Right Place, Right Time
by Snoopy7
Summary: Final chapter...I can say nothing more. Please r/r!!!
1. Back to School

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Everwood characters; they all belong to the WB.  
  
PG  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Hanging by a Moment, I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this yet, but it should be pretty good. I will ask for your help in later chapters.  
  
Ephram awoke as the smell of something burning tickled his nose. He knew immediately that his father had to be cooking. He was lying in bed, now wide awake, but not attempting to get up, because he knew what waited for him down in the kitchen. It was the breakfast from hell.  
  
Ephram decided he would get up, knowing he would eventually have to move. He slowly crawled out of bed, grabbed the sling for his arm, and walked toward the door.  
  
Ephram was recovering from a hiking accident that had happened only two weeks before. He was still very sore, and it still hurt to breathe, but only a little. He took small steps in the direction of the stairs, and slowly walked down them.  
  
The smell of whatever his dad had ruined was beginning to make Ephram want to gag. He had told his father when they first moved to Everwood, never to cook, ever again. Apparently Dr. Brown forgot about that.  
  
"Dad, what did I tell you about cooking? You're going to kill us all if you keep this up!" Ephram reached the kitchen, to see his dad setting a pan in the sink.  
  
"I should have listened to you Ephram. I wanted to see if my bad luck with cooking was over, but I guess not." Andy wiped his hands on a dish rag hanging from the oven handle.  
  
"If you ever want to cook, you're going to need a miracle, not good luck." Ephram pulled out a chair at the table and sat down.  
  
"So, what kind of cereal do you want?" Andy pulled three choices from the cabinet, "We have, Capt'n Crunch, Smacks, or, oh look! You can go coo coo for Cocoa Puffs!"  
  
"I think I'll just stop by the diner and pick something up." Ephram grabbed his backpack and walked towards the front door.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Trust me; I do it every time you cook!" Ephram closed the door behind him, got on his bike, and headed towards the only restaurant in town.  
  
******  
  
Ephram got to the school parking lot and put his bike in one of the stands they had there. He looked toward the doorway, and saw that Amy Abbott was waiting for him. He advanced toward her, and could see that she was smiling bigger with every step he took.  
  
"Is something funny?" Ephram reached his destination, "Why are you smiling like that?"  
  
"I don't know, I'm just glad your back." Amy grabbed his hand and they walked in together.  
  
This was Ephram's first day back at school since his accident, and he wasn't too excited. He was dreading seeing all of his teachers again, considering they all hated him. He rounded a corner and looked up to see a huge banner that read: WELCOME BACK EPHRAM! WE MISSED YOU!  
  
It was signed by his classmates, which surprised Ephram, since they hardly ever spoke a word to him.  
  
"What's going on here?" He never liked being the center of attention, "Why did you do this?"  
  
"Me? This wasn't my idea, it was Bright's." Amy gladly gave her brother the credit.  
  
"Bright came up with this? I thought he hated me."  
  
"Not since he found out..."  
  
Ephram interrupted her, "We were dating? Is anyone else going to treat me differently now that we are together?"  
  
"Of course not silly, why would they do that?" Amy knew what was coming next.  
  
"Because we are together." Ephram walked to his locker, letting go of Amy's hand. He put in his combination and opened the metal door. Rubber snakes popped out of it right once he did. He jumped back, tripping over himself and falling to the ground.  
  
He winced as his back hit the ground, making his chest hurt more than it already did, "That wasn't funny." He managed to say through small coughs.  
  
"That wasn't my idea either." Amy said as she kneeled beside him, "I don't know why Bright did that, I am so sorry."  
  
"No, no don't worry," He spoke louder as she helped him up off the ground, "If you had nothing to do with it, you have nothing to be sorry for." He rubbed his chest for a minute, letting the pain ease a little as he organized his books and papers for class.  
  
Bright walked up, smiling and laughing a little, "I'm sorry dude, I had to do it. I mean, you're cool with me, but I couldn't go without one last prank."  
  
"I don't blame you, but you do know I will retaliate." Bright gave him a confused look, "I can't believe you don't know what that means. I meant I'll get you back for those snakes."  
  
"Why did you jump so much?" Amy had never seen Ephram so scared, except for when he was on that cliff.  
  
"I hate snakes," Amy smiled at him, "I just do, okay?"  
  
The bell rang, telling the trio they had to get to class, fast. Ephram finished gathering his things, hugged Amy goodbye for now, and headed for homeroom.  
  
******  
  
The day dragged on as Ephram agonizingly went through his classes, turning in home-work he had done over the past two weeks. Every teacher gave him a smile, but treated him the same as before. He knew it was going to be like this forever, and he was learning to deal with it.  
  
Finally the day had ended, and Ephram headed for his locker. When he got there Amy was walking up, "Hey Ephram, how were your classes?"  
  
He knew she knew the answer to that question, but decided to answer anyway, "They were all the same. Teachers giving me bad looks and snares, every class, every day." Ephram hated school, but he was learning to deal with that, too.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." Amy gave him a sympathetic look.  
  
"Yeah, so am I." Ephram closed his locker and headed outside.  
  
"Do you want to do something later?" Amy followed him to his bike, "We could hang out at my place."  
  
Ephram kicked his kickstand up and looked at her, "I've had enough time inside houses, and I'd rather do something outside...Anything but hiking." He added.  
  
Amy laughed and then looked at him, "Okay, well, it won't be outside, but it will be away from your house. It's actually not even in town."  
  
Ephram was surprised to even think about going somewhere out of town, but he didn't mind, "Where is it?"  
  
"It's in the next town over. Bright and I used to go there all the time, but something happened, and we just quit going, I'm not sure why." Amy started to get that look like she was in her own little world.  
  
"Um...Earth to Amy." Ephram snapped his fingers in front of her face. She jumped a little but came back to him, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about stuff." She couldn't even really remember what she had been thinking about, so 'stuff' is what she had to tell him.  
  
Bright walked up to them a minute later, "Hey guys, what's up?"  
  
"Nothing much, Amy is just talking about taking me someplace out of town, but she won't tell me where." Ephram looked at Bright, and all of a sudden there was a smile on the jocks face.  
  
"Oh, you mean that teen's club in the next town over, yeah, that place is cool. I think it was called Clix, don't ask me why." Bright grabbed Ephram's handlebars, "I can take you two if you'd like?"  
  
Amy started to smile and nod a lot, which meant they were going. Ephram wasn't as enthusiastic as she was, he didn't even know what he was in for. Actually, none of them did. Ephram was being taken there for a good time; he would be leaving wishing he had never left his house that morning.  
  
All of them were in for a big surprise, but Ephram would be getting the biggest one out of all of them. No matter how much he would hate it want it, he was going to get it. 


	2. Club Clix

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Everwood characters; they all belong to the WB.  
  
PG  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Hanging by a Moment, I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this yet, but it should be pretty good. I will ask for your help in later chapters.  
  
Ephram told Bright he had to go home and tell his dad where he was going, and so that's where they were headed now. Ephram had to suffer through country music all the way, and then listen to Bright sing. Ephram thought he would die before he made it home!  
  
Once the truck pulled into his driveway, Ephram jumped out and ran inside.  
  
"Dad, I'm going somewhere with Bright and Amy, I'll be back later!" Ephram set his backpack on a chair next to the door, and started to walk out.  
  
"Hold it!" Andy walked into the entry; he had been in the kitchen, "Where are you going?"  
  
"Um, I think Bright said it was someplace called Clix, but I'm not sure. He said it's a teen club, its cool." Ephram tried leaving again, but was stopped, again.  
  
"I think I'm going to need more information than that. Like, where is it, when will you be back...Stuff like that." Dr. Brown didn't want to lose Ephram like he nearly did on that mountain.  
  
Ephram knew he was being waited on, so he tried to get out as fast as possible, and he knew just how to do it, "It's in the next town and I'll be back later, bye." With that he ran outside, slamming the door behind him.  
  
Bright had just finished getting Ephram's bike out of the back when he and Amy saw Ephram running to the truck as fast as ever. He jumped in and they were headed to Clix in no time.  
  
"Why were you going so fast?" Amy put her hand on Ephram's knee, making him jump a little.  
  
"My dad was bugging me, just about as much as your hand being there is."  
  
Amy quickly moved her hand, "Sorry," was all she said.  
  
"Lighten up, dude." Bright glanced over at Ephram, "She's just concerned, that's all."  
  
"I know, I just don't like people touching my knee, it's annoying." For about ten minutes the car ride was taken in complete silence. Ephram didn't know what to say, and he knew he had been rude, but he was only telling the truth.  
  
Amy knew she should say something, but she was in the same position as Ephram, speechless. She wanted to make him happy, but was afraid of making him mad.  
  
Bright had to end the silence, he had to say something to make everyone talk again, and he had to say something fast. "Hey Ephram, have you ever been to a club like this before?"  
  
"Bright, I've never been to a club." Ephram kept staring at the road.  
  
"Oh, well you will love it. I've been there a bunch of times, it's cool. I'll show you around when we get there." Bright knew he wasn't very successful in getting the two 'lovebirds' to talk again. He leaned over to Amy, keeping watch of where he was going, "Try talking to him, I think something might be wrong."  
  
"Bright, if something was wrong, don't you think I would know?" Bright sat back up, saying nothing else. Amy thought about what her brother had said, and decided it was best just to see if Ephram was alright.  
  
She leaned over to him, not wanting Bright to hear, "Ephram, I'm a little worried about you, are you alright?"  
  
Ephram never took his eyes off the road, "I'm fine, Amy, thanks anyway." He, unlike Amy, was loud when he spoke, making Bright look over at her and smile.  
  
"I guess that didn't work too well, huh?" Bright smirked.  
  
"Whatever gave you that idea, Bright? Did you read in on a road sign?" Amy was mad, and now she really didn't want to talk to anyone, especially Ephram.  
  
******  
  
Finally, after another thirty minutes of nobody talking, and a whole lot of rock, they arrived at Clix. Ephram wasn't certain what to expect, considering when they pulled up, it all looked deserted. All he could see was a huge warehouse, or so he thought.  
  
"This is it?" He leaned closer to the windshield, "You've got to be kidding me."  
  
"Yep, this is it." Bright leaned closer, too, "I know it looks weird, but it's really a club, its inside, and down some steps. You'll see when we get inside."  
  
"And, what if I don't want to go inside?" Ephram was becoming more and more hesitant the more he saw.  
  
"Ephram, don't be such a baby, it isn't that big of a deal." Amy scooted Ephram outside, "I'll go in with you."  
  
Ephram gave Amy one of those nah duh looks, which made Amy smile, "I hope you are. If you didn't, what kind of a girlfriend would you be?" Ephram started to smile a little, "I can hear the headlines now, 'Amy Abbott abandons boyfriend outside a club in'...Where are we?" Ephram looked around, realizing he had no clue what town he was in.  
  
"Chestnut," Ephram looked over at Bright, "That's the name of the town."  
  
Ephram began to smile even bigger this time, "Is the next town over Dogwood or something? Why are these town all name after trees?" Ephram turned to Amy this time.  
  
"I'm pretty sure it's only these two." She slid her hand into his and all three of them walked toward the door.  
  
Ephram wasn't feeling so uneasy about going in now, because he had two people with him who knew what they were doing...Or at least they said they did. They walked inside, and sure enough there was a stairwell leading down, so far so good, "This is the club?" Ephram stopped on the top step.  
  
"Almost," Bright grabbed Ephram's other arm, "You have to actually get down the steps." He smiled at Amy and they pulled him downstairs.  
  
Ephram nearly fell several times, but caught himself before hand. Soon he could hear music, getting louder the closer they all got to the bottom. The stairs were winding, a little anyway. They would go straight for about fourteen steps, and then turn to the left, over and over that happened, until they finally reached the bottom.  
  
Ephram could see lights flashing back and forth, and shadows walking past the curtain that was apparently the entrance to Clix. Bright lifted it for Amy, who dragged Ephram behind her, "THIS, is the club!" She had to yell over the music, which was now blaring.  
  
"I can see that, now what am I doing here again?" Ephram had to lean over to be heard.  
  
"You wanted to come!" Bright interrupted.  
  
"I never said that!" Ephram was shaking his head, but he was ignored, and pulled across the dance floor into the middle, where he felt most uncomfortable.  
  
Ephram hadn't danced much in his life, and when he did, it was in the privacy of his own room, not in front of a crowd of kids his age. And even if he was comfortable dancing in front of people, he couldn't because he had a cast on, which was getting extremely annoying at that moment. He leaned over to Amy trying not to yell too loud, "I'll be right back!"  
  
She nodded and started dancing with Bright, who was a very good dancer.  
  
Ephram walked into the quieter area of the club, off of the dance floor. It looked to him that there wasn't a free table anywhere, so he just walked over to the one that looked the emptiest, which only had one girl at it.  
  
"May I sit here?" Ephram still had to raise his voice, but not nearly as much as he did before.  
  
The girl looked up at him and nodded, looking back down in the process.  
  
"My name is Ephram Brown." He extended his good arm.  
  
She shook his hand, but didn't say anything.  
  
Ephram tried to look at her face, but she hid it every time, "Hey, I don't bite, I promise." He tried one more time, and it worked. She picked up her head and looked Ephram in the eye. She looked depressed for some reason, abut he wasn't going to ask, "So are you having fun?"  
  
She wasn't very loud, but he could hear a small, "Yeah, its fine."  
  
"That didn't sound too enthusiastic." He smiled at her, but she kept a straight face, "Is something wrong?" He realized what he was doing, but couldn't take it back.  
  
She looked like she wanted to tell him something, but couldn't. Then Ephram found out what it was, and this was that one thing he wished he never knew, this is why he wished he never left for school that morning. The girl looked up at him and said, "Do you really want to know the truth?" Ephram nodded with a small smile, "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow."  
  
DUN, DUN, DUN!!! What will Ephram do about this? I need a few suggestions, but no promises I will take them, reviews without suggestions are perfectly fine too, actually they are requested also. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, and I hope you will continue reading; it only gets better from here! 


	3. Pressure

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Everwood characters; they all belong to the WB.  
  
PG  
  
A/N: Just to let everyone in on things they probably already knew, Gonzo is one of my bestest best friends in the entire world, and I thank her for the one review for this story, and the one for the last story. As for Monkey, well, if it wasn't already obvious enough, he's my BF, and I love him dearly. I want to say happy birthday to Monkey, his age is my secret. I also want to thank every reviewer for reviewing, I really do appreciate it. I think I've made my point. And now to chapter 3!  
  
  
  
Ephram sat in somewhat of a shocked state with the girl sitting next to him, but not for long. She stared at him for a second, then stood up and left. Ephram attempted to follow her, but didn't succeed. He looked all around the club, and then ran outside, just in time to see her get into her car and drive away. Well, he knew one thing, she was older than sixteen. He also knew something else, he had no idea what her name was.  
  
All he knew was she had dark brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and was fairly slim. He knew nothing past that, and that wouldn't get him very far. He immediately looked at the license plate, quickly remembering what he saw.  
  
PICKLE...Ephram didn't know, or care why it said that, he just knew that's what he had to remember, and so he did. As fast as he ran out, he ran back into the club, catching sight of Amy walking into the bathroom.  
  
"Where's Bright?" He had to get out of there, and stop that girl before whatever time tomorrow she planned to do whatever she was going to do. He knew he probably wasn't going to find her in time, but he knew he had to try, or else he would be a failure.  
  
******  
  
"Dude, what is your deal?" Bright was pushed into his own truck, by Ephram.  
  
"I don't have time to explain, just take me to this towns freaking police station!" Ephram got in after Amy, who was just as worried as Bright.  
  
"Ephram, what's going on? Are you in trouble?" She looked over at him, very concerned.  
  
"No, I'm not, but someone else might be if I don't hurry." Ephram looked at Bright with a demanding look, and Bright took the hint. He put the car in gear and headed for the police station.  
  
Ephram was out of the truck before it even stopped, which worried Bright and Amy even more. They both knew something had to have been terribly wrong if Ephram didn't even care for his own safety, which was getting dangerously close to unsafe by the minute.  
  
There were cars speeding everywhere in the parking lot of the station, and Ephram was nearly hit by two of them. It surprised him that they decided to be that stupid, because, after all, they were at a police station. He practically flew up the steps and through the doors to the front desk.  
  
"Excuse me, I need some help." Ephram breathlessly told the clerk, a woman that appeared to be in her late thirties.  
  
"Of course, how may I help you?" She was a very sweet lady.  
  
"I need a license plate...Number so to speak...Anyway, I need something tracked." Ephram knew it wasn't aloud, but he couldn't say why, because this might make things even worse.  
  
Bright and Amy ran in a moment later, also out of breath, "Ephram," Amy walked up to him, "What is so wrong that we had to come here?" She started looking around the place, it was huge. Directly in front of her was the courtroom, which took Amy by surprised, because she didn't think they had courtrooms IN police stations.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid I can't trace any license plates for you here. It's against regulations." She smiled sweetly and looked back down at her papers.  
  
"Screw those freaking regulations! I need that license plate tracked now!!!" Ephram was now thoroughly angry, and nothing would calm him down.  
  
The girl at the desk looked back up, but this time she signaled for an officer to come over.  
  
"Way to go, Ephram, I think you've done it now." Bright pointed to the officer heading their way, but walked away as soon as he came into speaking range.  
  
"Young man," The husky officer took Ephram by the arm, "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."  
  
Ephram was pulled by his sleeve down the hall. He looked back at Amy and mouthed, 'Call my dad.' Amy understood and went to find a payphone.  
  
******  
  
Andy was sitting at home watching a football game on television, when the phone rang. He jumped up off the couch and picked up the phone, "Hello?" He talked into the receiver.  
  
"Dr. Brown?" He knew that voice, it was Amy's.  
  
"Where is Ephram?" A thought went thought went through his mind, that he prayed with all his heart wasn't true, 'Oh God, don't let Ephram be dead.'  
  
"He's fine," A wave of relief flooded Andy, "But he's at the police station."  
  
"I thought you said he was fine?" Andy began to worry again.  
  
"He is, he asked Bright to drive him here. He asked some the clerk at the front desk to track a license plate, but she said that was against regulations, so he got mad, and was taken into the back." Amy paused for a minute, "That was about ten minutes ago."  
  
Dr. Brown could feel worries grow inside of him, wondering what his son was up to, but afraid something was still very wrong, "Why aren't you at that club, Amy?"  
  
"Ephram just grabbed me by the arm when I came out of the bathroom, the next thing I knew we were at the station; he has yet to tell us why. While he was being dragged away..." Dr. Brown interrupted Amy.  
  
"Dragged away?"  
  
"Yeah, a police officer told Ephram to come with him, and so he did. Anyway, Ephram told me to call you as that was happening, and so that's why we're talking right now. I think he wants you to come down here."  
  
"I have no clue as to where you are, Amy." Dr. Brown, with all his heart wanted to be with her, but wasn't very good with directions yet.  
  
"Call my dad, he can help you, I promise." Amy stopped talking for a moment, but quickly came back on, "I have to go Dr. Brown, please get here as soon as possible."  
  
Before Andy could say anything else, Amy hung up. "Call your dad? Dr Abbott isn't the man I need to call for help right now." But without much hesitation, Andy was calling Dr. Abbott in a matter of seconds.  
  
******  
  
Ephram was sitting at a table in what appeared to be an interrogation room, which began making him regret saying anything at all to that lady up front. A man came in a minute later, staring at Ephram the whole time, "What's your name, kid?" The man wasn't very friendly looking.  
  
"Ephram Brown." He didn't dare mouth off to a potential officer of the law.  
  
"Well, Ephram, you caused quite a scene out there awhile ago, and I have to ask you why?"  
  
"Um," Ephram didn't really know what to say, "I was at a club earlier today, and I met this girl, I thin she might have a problem." It was better than anything else he could think of.  
  
"A problem...Care to explain?" The man was still staring at Ephram, which was beginning to make him feel very uncomfortable, just like on the dance floor at Clix.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so, but I don't know that you'll believe me." Ephram took a deep breath and started, "I didn't get her name, but I asked this girl how she was doing, and then she asked me if I really wanted to know, I nodded yes, and..." Ephram was hesitant to say anything else.  
  
"Go on, I'm listening."  
  
"She told me..." Ephram started looking around the room, "She told me she was going to kill herself tomorrow." Ephram felt the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders when he told this man what that girl had said, but he began to worry a little, too.  
  
What if they couldn't help him, what if they just blew him off? Ephram's questions were answered in a simple sentence, "What is that license plate number?"  
  
Ephram started giving the man all of the information he knew, like what she looked like, the look of the car she drove, and, of course, the license plate on the car.  
  
"Pickle, are you sure?" The man looked at Ephram oddly.  
  
"I know what I saw, if you don't believe me than forget it." Ephram stood up, but was pushed back down in his seat, which didn't feel too good, "Hey, watch it!" He pointed to his broken arm.  
  
"What happened to you by the way? I've been meaning to ask you."  
  
"I was in a hiking accident, that's I'll I'm saying." Ephram wanted more than anything to forget what had happened that day.  
  
"Oh, alright, fair enough. I'll see what I can do about that girl, but in the meantime I don't want you getting into any trouble with her, she might be dangerous."  
  
"How can I get into any trouble with her? I don't even know where she is!!!" Ephram stood up again, this time pulling away from the officer's hand.  
  
"I see your point. I think you should leave now." He opened the door for Ephram.  
  
"Not until you answer one more question for me." Ephram stood in the guys face.  
  
"What now?" He was getting very impatient.  
  
"Are you a real police officer?"  
  
"That was a stupid question." The officer pushed Ephram out the door and down the hall, back to where Amy and Bright sat, waiting patiently.  
  
"Are you okay?" Amy ran up to him.  
  
"I'm fine, Grover, did you call my dad?" Amy blushed at the sound of her nickname.  
  
"Yeah, he should be here soon." Amy walked back to the waiting area with Ephram.  
  
"I have to find that girl, no matter what happens." Ephram whispered once he sat down.  
  
"Why you care so much about a girl?" Bright leaned in closer.  
  
"Because she told me something that I don't think I should tell you, I don't think I should even be talking about this right now." Ephram sat back up, just in time to see his father walk inside, "Dad!" Ephram called to him."  
  
"Ephram, what happened?" Andy examined Ephram from head to tow.  
  
"Dad, I'm fine, don't worry about me. I can't really explain what happened; I just want to go home." Ephram stood up and walked back outside, where he saw Dr. Abbott waiting in his car, "What in the world?" Ephram looked at his dad.  
  
"I had to get here somehow, and he was the only way." Dr. Brown walked over to the car and got in, "I want you kids to follow us home, do you understand that?" Andy was looking straight at Bright.  
  
"Yeah, I understand." Bright walked to his truck, unlocked it, and got back in for what he thought would be the final time that night, but he was wrong.  
  
"Come on Ephram, get in!" Amy was waiting by the passenger's door, just to make sure he was coming. Ephram slowly walked to the door, waited for Amy to get in, and then preceded after her.  
  
Once they were all driving home, they thought all the excitement would end for that day, but that all changed when Ephram looked out the window toward some houses. He looked in the driveway of one of them, and saw a car with the license plate PICKLE. He sat straight up, making sure he was positive about what he saw. When he was 100% sure, he looked over at Bright, "Stop the truck!"  
  
That announcement scared Bright so much he hit the brakes hard, "Why, what's wrong?" Before he even got an answer, Ephram was out of the truck and headed up a driveway.  
  
"What is he doing?" Amy got out and followed him, with Bright right behind her.  
  
"Ephram, where are you going!?!" Bright ran ahead of Amy.  
  
"This is the girl, that license plate, it's her car." Ephram didn't make much sense, but Bright decided to follow him anyway, "Our dads are going to kill us."  
  
"Then you go ahead, I'll be here the whole time, I promise." Ephram wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying, it was just that whatever he thought came out of his mouth, even if he didn't mean for it to.  
  
Amy turned around and saw her father pulling over a little ways ahead of her. She waved Dr. Brown down, and he came running, "What is Ephram doing?"  
  
"I have no clue." Amy just stared at her boyfriend, wishing he would turn around and come back to her.  
  
Soon Bright was doing just that, turning around. He had stopped about five feet in front of the doorstep, not planning to go any further. He walked back to Amy and Andy, waiting for Ephram to come to his senses.  
  
But what everyone was hoping for wasn't going to happen. Ephram had something he knew he had to do, and he was going to do it. He slowly made his way up to the door, found the doorbell, and pushed the small, lit button.  
  
He could hear footsteps inside, and finally, after what seemed like five minutes, the door swung open, revealing the girl from earlier, "...It's you, what are you doing here?" She looked a little more than surprised, but just how Ephram remembered her.  
  
"You can't do it," Ephram realized what he was doing, and knew it was stupid, but there was no turning back now; "I can't let you kill yourself." For some reason, Ephram began to feel extremely light headed.  
  
"And you're going to stop me? I don't think so." She attempted to shut the door, but Ephram put his foot in its way, which didn't feel too great, but he kept talking.  
  
"Please, let's just talk." Ephram reopened the door.  
  
"With you? I don't even know you, except that your name is Ephram Brown." She sighed heavily.  
  
"Well, that's a start. What's your name?" Ephram was hoping she wouldn't catch onto what he was doing. She didn't.  
  
"My name?" She looked into his eyes sincerely, "My name is Annette Macmillan." She opened the door a little wider, inviting him inside.  
  
Ephram took the offer and stepped into Annette's house, "I like your place." Ephram looked around at all of the antique things in there. There was a huge shelf dedicated to antique glass.  
  
"Thanks, I'll give it to you when I'm gone." She closed the door behind him, leaving Drs. Brown and Abbott, and the kids, outside in the cold.  
  
******  
  
Amy stood against Bright's truck waiting for Ephram to come back outside in a matter of minutes. But those minutes kept passing by more and more, until it reached the thirty minute marker. She began to get a little worried, because she had seen him swaying outside the girls door, and she knew that wasn't a good sign, it meant he had to get home and take his medicine.  
  
She didn't want him to leave, because if this girl was in as much trouble as Ephram made it out to be, Amy wanted her to have all the help she could get. If only Amy knew how little help Ephram was being, she might have changed her mind.  
  
******  
  
Ephram had taken a seat on Annette's couch awhile ago, and remained there now. It was almost as if he was afraid to move, but that wasn't the case. He felt horrible, and he knew why, but there was nothing he could do about that now.  
  
"So, Annette, this is going to sound strange, but why are you going to commit suicide tomorrow? What is it that has made you so upset?" Ephram wanted a simple answer, so he could say something to change her mind, but that answer didn't come.  
  
Instead, he got the one answer he least wanted to hear, "My parents told me I was a worthless piece of junk, just waste in the universe. I tried to live with my older brother, but he was killed in a car accident about a year ago. I have no one else to turn to, and no place else to go. I'm only seventeen, I don't have a job, and I can barely stay out of jail long enough to look for one." She looked up at Ephram, who, at that point, looked very ill, "I'm beginning to believe my parents."  
  
Ephram could feel the sweat on his forehead, but did nothing to remove it; he just sat with Annette in silence. He wanted to say something, but he feared he would only make things worse. If he only knew how much worse he being silent was making things, he, like Amy, might also want to change his mind.  
  
Ephram was getting increasingly dizzy, and knew if he didn't get back to the truck soon, he would be in trouble. He stood, nearly falling over, but catching himself, "I...I have to go." He managed to say as he opened the door, He turned back to Annette and smiled the best he could, "Look, I don't know what to say to make you not do this, but if you will just give me a chance to change your mind, I will. The only reason I'm leaving now is because I have to go home before I pass out."  
  
Annette stood to meet Ephram at the door, "If you really want to try and talk me out of this, meet me at that bridge between this town and Everwood. I'll be happy to see what you have to say, but there are no promises I'll listen. I highly doubt I will actually." She let Ephram walk out the rest of the way before closing the door.  
  
Ephram realized he hadn't gotten a time from her, and knowing that was a problem, turned back around, but the door had already been closed. He headed back toward his dad, but felt like his feet were being lifted off of the ground. He tried to walk faster, but that only made it worse. He felt himself falling to the ground, and before he knew it, the small group in the yard was running toward him.  
  
Before any of them knew it, Ephram's eyes were closed. Due to the pressure he had put on his body, the shock of what Annette planned on doing, and the small fact that Ephram hadn't taken his pain medicine in over twelve hours, made him pass out. 


	4. Escape!

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Everwood characters; they all belong to the WB.  
  
PG  
  
  
  
Ephram woke opened his eyes and tried to soak up his surroundings. At first he had no idea where he was, because it, in no way, resembled him room. Then he realized where he was exactly. He was back at the hospital, the one place he never wanted to be again.  
  
"What am I doing here?" He whispered to himself.  
  
"You passed out, right outside that girl's house." Ephram looked to his left to see his dad standing from his seat, "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Fine I guess. What time is it?" He searched for a clock, not having any success.  
  
"It's about nine-thirty pm." Andy answered.  
  
"You've got to be kidding!" Ephram sat up, "it was daylight outside last I remember."  
  
"Whoa, steady boy." A doctor walked into the room, "You need to lie back down, and you've put yourself through a lot tonight." Ephram recognized this doctor, but couldn't put a name to the face.  
  
"I remembered you when your father and his friend ran through the doors, and I came over as fast as I could." Then Ephram remembered why this guy looked so familiar. It was Dr. Taylor. The one person Ephram never wanted to see again.  
  
"Yeah, I remember you, too." Ephram rolled his eyes, "Sadly."  
  
Dr. Taylor smiled and then looked at Andy, "The tests we took showed that everything is fine, but we need to keep Ephram here over night just in case."  
  
When Ephram heard the words' stay over night' his eyes got wide immediately, "NO!!" Both doctors turned to the teenager, "I can't stay here tonight; I have to be somewhere...At sometime tomorrow!" Ephram remembered that he had no idea what time Annette planned to meet him on that bridge the next day, "Please, you don't understand how important it is that I get out of here tonight."  
  
"I'm sorry Ephram, but you have to stay here. It's very important that you do, because you, like I said before, put yourself through a lot earlier. There seems to be something stressing you out, and I would like to know what it is, if you don't mind." Dr. Taylor crossed his arms.  
  
"Yeah, I would too, by the way." Andy sat back down, both of the men waiting for an answer.  
  
"I can't tell you just yet, but it's very important that I leave to night, that's part of why I'm stressed out." Ephram didn't realize that he had said 'part of the reason', but his father did.  
  
"And the other part would be?" Andy looked very curious now.  
  
"Dad, I can't tell you that either." That's al Ephram could say, and that's all he did say.  
  
"Well, if you can't tell us, then I can't let you out." The doctor looked at Ephram, and then walked out the door.  
  
'Well then I'll get out of here myself.' Ephram thought. He had a plan, something that wouldn't necessarily work, but Ephram had to try.  
  
******  
  
Ephram had fallen asleep at about twelve that night, because he was too worried about Annette to do much of anything. She had said things that really concerned him, like what her parents had told her, and about her brother. He knew what it was like to lose someone, he knew it wasn't easy.  
  
That was the other part of what was bothering him. He missed his mom. He missed her more than he could ever express to anyone, even Amy. HE had kept his feelings in for so long, but they were beginning to surface now, and he didn't like it at all.  
  
This had been going on for the past week now, and Ephram was getting good at hiding it, no matter how hard someone tried to get him to talk. He didn't plan on letting anyone know how he felt, but he didn't plan on committing suicide either. He knew that wasn't the way out, and he, somehow, had to convince Annette that that was the case, too.  
  
"This isn't going to be easy." Ephram had thought to himself before he fell asleep.  
  
He was awake now, and his plan was about to go into action. Ephram looked around the dark hospital room, making sure everyone had gone home. His dad couldn't stay today, because he had to go to the clinic the next day.  
  
The next day was Tuesday, and that meant Ephram was going to miss school. So, unless one of the nurses came in early, he wouldn't be discovered missing until about eleven a.m., which made Ephram rather confident he could get far.  
  
He slipped out of bed with ease, and that was the only easy part. He had to get down the hall unnoticed, and he didn't know what time it was, so he couldn't figure out if it was a shift change or not. Before Ephram went to the door, he went to a chair where his clothes were laying. He picked them up, and went to change in the bathroom. Once he got out, he headed for the door.  
  
It was a shift change, luckily. Ephram looked out through the little window in the door right at a clock, it was three a.m., Ephram had ten minutes to get out of the building, and for him, that wasn't much time. He walked down the hall, but one of the nurses was walking right toward him. He ran and hid behind a supply shelf. Sadly there weren't too many of those just sitting around.  
  
The nurse turned before she reached the place Ephram was at, so Ephram ran further down the hall, again unnoticed. He made it to the elevator, but he couldn't take that, because it would make too much noise. He went for the stairs, it would take longer, but he had to do it.  
  
He opened the creaky door and slowly closed it back. He looked down the stairwell; it was a little ways down. He was on the seventh floor, because his condition wasn't that serious. He started down the stairs, but heard someone coming up, or so he thought.  
  
He soon realized someone was actually coming down, and he ran as fast as possible to the bottom floor. He had made it, but now came the hardest part. He had to get past the front desk, at three a.m. in the morning. Someone was sure to notice a teenage boy walking out of the hospital at that time, because, unless they were staying the night, visitors weren't aloud past nine.  
  
Ephram opened the door slightly, only leaving a crack between it and its frame. He peaked out through that tiny space and saw that same annoying girl at the front desk, but he didn't recognize her, because he was unconscious when he was brought in.  
  
He saw her drop something, and when she leaned down to get it, that was Ephram's chance to leave. He opened the door as wide as he could and ran to the waiting room. Again Ephram was very lucky, because there were people in the waiting room. He sat there, unnoticed by the clerk at the front desk. Ephram decided the easiest thing to do would be to just, of course, walk out, and so he did.  
  
******  
  
After walking for what seemed like five hours to Ephram, he read a sign that said Welcome to Chestnut. It was daylight outside, and Ephram had made it. All he had to do now was get to the other side of town, but he was absolutely exhausted. He didn't know what time it was, but he knew it was late. It was ten a.m. at least. He knew he had been walking for a long time, longer than he actually thought he was.  
  
Anyway, he started walking again, walking past the police station, and towards the bridge. He was soon to be discovered missing, and he knew it. But at that point he didn't really care. He got closer and closer to the bridge, until it finally came into sight. He knew it was a ways off the ground, and he could see someone standing on the edge. He squinted to see who it was, and sure enough, there stood Annette.  
  
Ephram sped up his pace and soon reached the edge of the bridge, "Annette, don't do it!" He walked closer, but to his dismay, she jumped off. He didn't even get a chance to reason with her.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
So, is Annette really dead? You'll have to wait and find out! I should have the next chapter up as fast as the others! Fair warning though! This story will be a long one, I can guarantee! 


	5. Friends

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
Ephram couldn't believe what he had just seen, 'Annette just jumped!' That was the only thing going through his head. He ran over to the place was she was just standing, and looked down.  
  
Ephram was shocked at what he saw. Annette was standing there, perfectly fine, smiling. She was smiling!  
  
He sunk down to the side of the bridge and rested against it, "I can't believe you just did that to me. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment."  
  
Annette climbed back up and sat next to Ephram, "Geez, sorry kid, I didn't mean to scare you like that."  
  
"I just escaped from a hospital, and walked who knows how far for you. And you nearly scare me to death by making me think you jumped to yours!" Ephram sat breathing heavily for a minute, and then realized what he just said, "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to yell at you like that."  
  
"Yes you did, and I deserved it. See, this is why I don't belong in this world, I can't make anybody happy. I always do SOMETHING to make SOMEBODY mad!!" Annette stood up and started walking away.  
  
"Annette, wait!" Ephram got up as fast as he could, which really wasn't a good idea, "Whoa, really wait." Everything was spinning around Ephram, or at least it felt like it.  
  
Annette turned back around, just in time to run up to Ephram and catch him from hitting the ground.  
  
He had passed out again.  
  
******  
  
Andy walked through the old train station to his office, picking up a chart along the way, "Alright Mrs. Lechter lets see what we have today."  
  
"Twins." The young, blonde headed girl said, "We're having twins."  
  
The phone rang quietly in the background, but, trusting Edna would get it, Dr. Brown looked up at the Lechter girl, "I see, well, this should be exciting!" He was about to start his examination when Edna stuck her head in the room.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt this warm and fuzzy moment Doc, but it appears that your son has escaped from the hospital."  
  
"He what?!?" Andy turned around, not quite sure if he had heard correctly. When he saw Edna's face, he knew he had, "I'm sorry," He turned back to the pregnant girl, "Can I reschedule?"  
  
"Um, yeah that's fine." She got of the table just as Andy left the room.  
  
He grabbed his jacket and car keys, "Edna, I'll be gone for awhile, do you think you can handle things around here?" With a quick nod for a response, Dr. Brown was off to find his son.  
  
******  
  
Ephram opened his eyes, again, to unfamiliar surroundings. This time he had no clue as to where he was, no matter how long he looked around. The answer was soon given to him when Annette walked into the room, then it hit him, she had taken him home, he had once again passed out.  
  
"This has to be a record for me; I've never passed out this much in a week." Ephram paused for a moment, "Heck, I've never passed out before that hiking trip."  
  
Ephram was mostly speaking to himself, but Annette couldn't help but ask, "What happened to you on that trip? I mean, you DO look pretty beat up."  
  
Ephram lifted his head and looked at her, "Gee thanks, this was two weeks ago!" Annette got an apologetic look on her face, "But that's okay, after what happened to me, I'm not surprised I look so bad. I was with a friend, and I've only been hiking once....." Ephram went on explaining, Annette listening the whole time. Apparently nobody had ever talked to her this much before.  
  
"Anyway, that's what happened, and I'm NEVER going hiking again!" Annette smiled at that remark, and then left the room again. She came back with a glass of water.  
  
"Here, you need to drink this. After walking from Denver, you have to be thirsty."  
  
Ephram looked at her again, "How did you know I walked from Denver?"  
  
"You told me you escaped from a hospital, and the closest one is in Denver." Annette sat next to him, he was on a bed.  
  
"Please don't kill yourself, Annette." That was all Ephram could think of to say.  
  
"What?" Annette soon realized what he had said, "Oh...Yeah, about that, I didn't think you would really come. I wasn't actually going to jump off that bridge; I was going to OD if anything. I just wanted to scare you a little, and I did." She laughed a little at the end.  
  
"That's the first time I've heard you laugh." Ephram smiled at her, "We're making progress already." Ephram then thought of a great idea, he just hoped Annette thought it was so great too, "Let's make a deal."  
  
"You mean like the game show?" Annette was kidding.  
  
"You know what I mean. I want you to give me a few days, maybe even a week, to try and convince you not to go all suicidal on me again. You seem like a really nice person, and I would like it if we could get to be friends."  
  
Annette was actually beginning to like this kid, "You have a week." She held out her hand and the two of them shook on it. They had a deal, "You know, you're a pretty cute kid."  
  
Ephram smiled, but then remembered something, "Sorry Annette, I'm taken." Saying that, he then though about the fact that she had to know someone had found out he was missing by now. He stood up, but not so fast this time, "I'm sorry but I have to go, I'll be in trouble if I don't."  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later!" Annette yelled after him.  
  
Ephram stopped in her doorway, not quite outside yet, "I'll meet up with you tomorrow! Same place, no jumping this time!" She smiled again as he ran out the door.  
  
****** Andy was pacing back and forth in his living room, with Amy sitting on the couch. He hadn't had any luck in finding Ephram, and he was beginning to worry, "Where could he be?"  
  
"Dr. Brown, you and I both know Ephram, he's a smart kid, and he can take care of himself. I'm sure he's fine." Amy watched him keep pacing.  
  
"How do you know that? He escaped from the hospital! He could be hurt, or worse!"  
  
"Please don't say that, I doubt it's true anyway." Amy was now afraid Dr. Brown was right.  
  
Dr. Brown kept pacing until he heard the front door open, and then close again, "Ephram, are you home?" Andy ran to the entry, it was Ephram, "Where have you been?"  
  
"I can't really tell you." Ephram knew that was the wrong answer, but he couldn't tell his dad the truth, not yet.  
  
"Okay, but you do know you are in trouble, right?" Andy looked at Amy, she was standing next to Ephram now.  
  
"Dad, whatever you do, the one thing you can't do is ground me, please, this is way too important." Those words came out of Ephram's mouth faster than he could stop them, and he knew what was going to happen next.  
  
"I'm sorry, so. You know it has to happen. You're grounded. In disbelief. He had to help Annette. If he didn't meet her at that bridge the next day, she would probably do the same thing.  
  
To Ephram it looked like his life was going to be consisted of escaping, breaking out of places, and things like that.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
I know this chapter sucks, but I have to get to where I'm going somehow! Please review, I no longer need suggestions, I know exactly what is going to happen in the entire story. But, if you would like to give them, I might be able to shift the fic a little and work it in. But either way, please review. 


	6. Family Plans

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
Amy had been sent home, and Ephram had been sent to his room. Neither one of them got to say goodbye to the other, they just parted in different directions. Ephram was so embarrassed by what his father had done in front of her; he didn't dare go near Amy until he absolutely had to.  
  
"I can't believe this is happening. I'm going to be kept under lock and key forever at this rate! But I have to get to Annette; there is no way I'm taking back my word." Ephram sat on the edge of his bed, thinking of a way to get out of his own house.  
  
The hospital was easier than escaping from this place! Ephram thought about the window, and how he had done it once before, but that was in a totally different circumstance. He had escaped to go to a party, and he got drunk that night. Boy was he in trouble. Anyway, Ephram knew the window was his only way, but his arm would make it exceedingly difficult to get down, but he had to try...Later.  
  
******  
  
Amy sat on her bed looking at her diary, thinking of how to explain what had happened that day. She couldn't believe Ephram had actually escaped from the hospital, but why? That was the question that was on her mind the most.  
  
Dear Diary,  
  
Ephram has been acting really weird lately, like yesterday, I took him to Clix, and he totally freaked out on me after we were there for like, ten minutes. I was worried about him then, or so I thought. There is no doubt in my mind that I am worried about him now. He told Bright to take him to the police station, which led to absolutely nothing. We wound up at some girls house, and he went inside! I wasn't very happy about that, but what really bugs me is why he did it. The thing is, I don't know, because he won't tell me. My own boyfriend is keeping secrets from me. And the worst part is I think something else other than just that girl is bugging him, because he's been getting all distant on me lately. I try talking to him, but he's in his own little world, although I guess I do that sometimes too, but not that much. Anyway, Ephram passed out outside that girls place, and we had to take him to the hospital, I wasn't there for very long, and I didn't even get to see him while I was. He broke out this morning, and he won't tell me or his dad why. He was grounded right in front of me, I bet he's embarrassed, but who wouldn't be? I really hope he's okay or at least going to be . ******  
  
It was about five-thirty now, and Ephram was still in his room, sitting on his bed. He hadn't moved. He was still thinking about how to get out of there. Maybe there was a better way than the window. But he knew there wasn't; with all of his heart he knew the window was his only choice.  
  
He made the decision that at about ten the next morning, he would get out of there. Escaping wouldn't have been a problem for Ephram if he had known one little fact; his dad was on to him. Andy had asked Nina in advance if she could keep an eye on Ephram, and she had agreed, in advance. With her watching, there was no way he would get out without being noticed, I mean, she lived right next door!  
  
But Ephram didn't know that, and his dad had made no plans to tell him, so he was trapped before he even moved an inch. Ephram was a smart boy though, like Amy had said. He could find another way out of there, maybe.  
  
******  
  
Ephram had fallen asleep later that night, and didn't plan on going to school, which was a good thing, because Andy wouldn't have let him anyway. Ephram woke the next morning and looked at his clock, it was nine exactly. He had about an hour to go, but something stopped him. There was a note on his door, it read:  
  
Ephram,  
  
Nina will be stopping by every once in a while, just to check up on you. If you are not here, she will inform me, and if you are, everything will remain just as it is, perfectly fine. Please try to stay out of trouble for one day.  
  
Love, Dad  
  
"Sorry dad, I but not everything will be perfectly fine if I stay here." Ephram grabbed his book bag and walked toward his window, but then saw Nina looking up at him, "Oh great, I forgot about that." He stood in view of her for a minute, hoping she would leave, but she never did, "This really sucks, how am I going to get out of this place?" Then Ephram came up with his best plan yet.  
  
He ran downstairs and out the door, "Nina, I need to ask you a favor!" Ephram walked over to her yard.  
  
"Sure, what do you want?" Nina wasn't suspecting anything, which made it twenty times easier for Ephram.  
  
"I need a ride to school, I decided to go today, and I don't want to fall behind." He was always a bad liar, but Nina didn't know that, yet.  
  
"Are you sure you're up to it? Because your dad said don't let you leave the house." Nina didn't mean to say that, but she didn't take it back afterward, so everything worked out.  
  
"He did? I should have known. I don't think school would be excluded, I can still make some of my classes if we hurry." Ephram looked hopeful, but not towards his classes.  
  
"Okay, just let me get my keys and we'll leave." Nina walked back inside and came a minute later, jangling her keychain, "Let's go!" They both got in the car, and were headed for the school. Ephram's plan was working perfectly.  
  
******  
  
Nina pulled up to the school only minutes later, and Ephram got out as fast as he could, "I can get a ride home, if my dad gets mad, tell him to yell at me." The last thing Ephram wanted was for Nina to get the blame for something she didn't even know about.  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later." After Ephram was far enough away, Nina started driving back home.  
  
Ephram looked back and, seeing that Nina was gone, ran in the opposite direction of the school. What he didn't know, was that someone saw him. Bright had been watching all the while, and knew Ephram had to be up to something, so he started to run in the same direction. Skipping the rest of the school day didn't matter to Bright.  
  
******  
  
Ephram reached the bridge and saw that Annette had just arrived. She smiled at him, and began walking faster, "Hey stranger." Ephram smiled back.  
  
"How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine, no suicidal thoughts yet." Ephram's smile slowly faded, "Relax, I won't do anything."  
  
"Do you promise?" Ephram was known to be paranoid.  
  
"Yes, Ephram, don't worry, please." Annette gave him a promising look, so he started to feel a little better.  
  
"Who's your friend?" Annette was looking behind Ephram.  
  
"Friend, what friend?" Ephram looked behind him, "...Oh no." He quickly looked back, this can't be happening." He closed his eyes and wished it all would go away, but when he reopened them, Bright was even closer.  
  
"Hey man, who is this?" Bright walked up next to Ephram, "You aren't cheating on Amy or anything, are you?" He was joking, and Ephram knew that.  
  
"Ha, ha, very funny. Bright Abbott, meet Annette McMillan. Annette, meet Bright." After the introduction, they both shook hands.  
  
"Is this that girl that's got you so worked up?" Ephram shot a bad look in Bright's direction, "I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"  
  
"It's okay that you're worried about me Ephram, I glad someone actually cares." Annette smiled at Ephram again, him smiling back just the same.  
  
"Bright, what are you doing here?" Ephram turned to him.  
  
"I saw you run from the school, so I followed you...Although I should be asking you the same question." Bright crossed his arms and smiled suspiciously.  
  
"I promised to meet here with Annette, and my dad grounded me, so I had to sneak out, and the only way to do that, was to get to school, but not actually go...Get it?" Ephram smiled back at him, the exact same way.  
  
"Hey, guys, before this gets ugly, why don't we go back to my place and talk?" Annette looked at Bright, who looked a little freaked.  
  
"Nah, that's okay, I think I should probably get back to school before someone misses me." He started walking away.  
  
"You, get missed? Yeah right." Ephram laughed a little and started to follow Annette.  
  
******  
  
Bright had made it back to school just in time to see Amy walking toward the tables outside with her lunch tray, "Hey Amy, do you know where Ephram is right now?"  
  
Amy saw that Bright was walking in the wrong direction to be coming from gym, "He's at his house, grounded and sick...What about you, where have you been?"  
  
"He isn't at his place, he's with that girl, you know the one that was getting him so jumpy the other night, her name is Annette." Bright sat with Amy, but then regretted it when she got an upset look on her face.  
  
"What's going on with him?" Amy looked down at her food.  
  
"Nothing, Aims. He's just helping her out, apparently something is wrong with her and he is just caring abut her...Or at least that's what it sounded like to me." Bright grabbed her hand, saving her macaroni and cheese from being completely destroyed.  
  
"Are you sure, because he's been acting really strange lately." Amy started to worry something was beginning to become very wrong.  
  
"I'm sure, now I have to go, but I'll give you a ride home, and Ephram if he gets back in time." Bright smiled at her, making a small smile appear on her face, but only a small one.  
  
******  
  
After Ephram and Annette talked for awhile, they both acknowledged the fact that they were to meet at the same place, everyday, but at different times because of Ephram's schooling.  
  
"I'm glad we met at that club, Annette, if I had heard about you on the news or something, and then realized that I saw you there, I would have freaked." Ephram stood up, getting ready to leave.  
  
"Me too, it's nice to know that I have someone I can talk to now, I don't feel so useless anymore." Annette smiled as she opened the door for him.  
  
"Why don't you try to get back together with your parents, I'm sure they'd love to hear from you. I mean, they can't be that mad at you." Ephram stopped before he walked outside.  
  
"Ephram, you have no idea."  
  
"Just give then a chance. I'll call them and tell them you want to 'rekindle the flame', as most people would say it...I think." Ephram knew that wasn't right.  
  
"That's for people in love, but I get what you're saying. I think it would be better if I be the one to call them, but thanks for the offer. I'll do it later tonight, because if my parent's schedules are still the same, they won't be home till then." Annette smiled even bigger, "I'll see you tomorrow Ephram."  
  
"Okay," He stopped again, "Hey, if I'm not there at close to five, or even a little after, give me a chance; I DO have to get out of my house somehow." Ephram paused for a moment, "You know what, I have a better idea, how about we meet right after I get out of school, and that way I don't have to go home and then get back out somehow, does that sound good?"  
  
"That's sounds fine to me." Annette waved to Ephram and then closed the door, "This should be an interesting week." Annette sat back down on her couch and waited to call her parents. She couldn't break that promise to Ephram, it looked like it meant too much to him, and it did. She would be thankful later on. But then again, maybe not. 


	7. Keeping Secrets

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
Ephram walked to the school just as every kid in the whole place was running out of the building, school was out. Bright looked around really fast and saw Ephram. He ran over just as fast.  
  
"Hey man, do you need a ride home?" Ephram smiled, knowing what Bright was getting at, "I'm not letting you get into any trouble, that girl looks like she needs you right now, just don't tell your dad."  
  
Amy came over soon after that, while they were both standing by the truck, "Where have you been?" Amy asked breathlessly.  
  
"I can't tell you yet." Ephram opened the door and Amy got in, not very happy. Ephram got in immediately after her, seeing the look on her face he said, "Look Amy, I'm really sorry, but if I do, things might not go as planned, and trust me, thing REALLY need to go as planned for this to work out." Amy seemed to understand, so Ephram left the subject alone.  
  
"What if your dad asks you where you've been? What are you going to say?" Bright was leaning past Amy to look at Ephram.  
  
"I hope that was rhetorical." Bright gave him a smile and started the truck. They were off to get Ephram home, and still, to his amazement, everything was going just like it needed to.  
  
******  
  
Ephram hadn't been asked where he was, he had just been warned never to run off again, and told he was still grounded. Ephram knew this was going to go on for awhile, but if it helped Annette not to do what she threatened, Ephram would take every chance he needed to.  
  
If only Ephram knew how much Annette needed help, he might have changed his mind about telling his father. After all, his dad was the 'Great Dr. Brown,' Ephram had said so himself.  
  
Not everything is as it seems, but this seemed to be fine, so Ephram wouldn't ask Annette any questions, he would just be there for her, as a friend, as a helper, as a listener, and as a mentor.  
  
******  
  
Dear Diary,  
  
Ephram is acting even weirder than I thought he would. He lied to Nina, just so he could see a girl. He told her he wanted to go to school, but then ran in the opposite direction when Nina pulled away. Bright said he followed Ephram and I believe him. He even said Ephram planned to meet her on that bridge several times, but I don't know about that. Why does Ephram care about her more than me? Is she that important? And if she is, why? Why is she so special? Why has she taken the only thing I care about away from me? Why can't Ephram just tell me why he sneaks out of his house and lies just to go see her...It can't be that big of a deal. Can it?  
  
All I know is I am very worried about him.  
  
******  
  
Ephram sat up in his room, staring at the ceiling when the phone rang. He looked at the caller I.D., and it read McMillan. Ephram freaked, knocked the phone off the hook, but picked it up immediately.  
  
"Hello, Annette?" Ephram was breathing heavily.  
  
"Yeah, sorry it's so late." Ephram looked at his clock; it was only eight- forty-five.  
  
"No problem. Is something wrong?"  
  
"No, I'm fine; I just thought you should know that I called my parents." Ephram's eyes went wide when he heard that.  
  
"How did it go?" He hoped for the best.  
  
"It went great! They want to see me tomorrow, so, I'm sorry, but we can't meet tomorrow." Annette was obviously smiling.  
  
"I think I can survive not getting punished one day." Ephram was smiling too.  
  
The phone clicked, meaning there was someone else on Annette's other line, "I have to go, that's my mom calling back, but I'll see you later!"  
  
"Wait, how did you get my number?" Ephram was still puzzled about that.  
  
"You might be new, but there are such things called phone books in this place." Annette's line clicked again, "I really have to go, bye."  
  
Without even being able to return the farewell, Ephram was hung up on. He had a feeling that things were going to work out.  
  
******  
  
Andy looked at the caller I.D., "McMillan, who in the world is that?" He looked at the phone, 'Extension in use,' is what it read.  
  
"Ephram..." Andy walked toward the stairs, "What is he up to?" Then it hit him, that girl, form the other night, it has to be.  
  
Andy walked up to Ephram's door, trying to see if he could hear anything, but all he heard was his son hang up the phone and sigh. Andy slowly tapped on the door, "Ephram who was that?"  
  
He heard footsteps, and soon Ephram was standing face to face with him, "Um...Just a friend from...School." Ephram couldn't tell the truth.  
  
"School huh? Why haven't I heard about this new friend?"  
  
"I, uh, met her today." Ephram knew he shouldn't have said her, but it just slipped.  
  
"Her huh? What is the rest of 'her' name?" Andy had to ask.  
  
Ephram had to think of something as fast as he could, "Gretchen, her name is Gretchen McMillan, and she's new at school." Ephram lied about as well as Andy cooked, and we all know how bad that is.  
  
"New huh? You do realize I CAN tell when you're lying to me? So why don't you spare us all the trouble and tell me what is going on with you lately?" Andy crossed his arms.  
  
"Dad, I know you don't want to hear this, but I can't. It's too important to tell anyone." Ephram looked upset.  
  
"Even me?" Ephram nodded, "Okay, if you say so, but don't go over your head, you've been under a lot of stress lately, and if much else happens to you, I don't know what will happen." Andy ruffled Ephram's hair around quickly, and then walked down the hall.  
  
Ephram knew things were unraveling fast, because Bright had already seen the girl, and his dad knew he was being called by her, and that it was too important to tell. If he kept things a secret for much longer, he knew the stress would get to him, just like his father had said. 


	8. It's Only A Dream

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
Ephram woke up the next morning with a comic book in his hand, he had fallen asleep reading it, "Whoa, apparently I was more tired than I thought." Ephram crawled out of bed, looking at his clock, it was only five- thirty, and he usually didn't get up until six. He let out a heavy sigh.  
  
"Ephram, are you awake?" Andy walked down the hall, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"No dad, you're seeing things, go back to sleep." Ephram walked into the bathroom.  
  
"I can't, I have an appointment with someone really early this morning, but I'll hold onto that thought." Andy really did want to go back to sleep, but knew he had an obligation to his patients.  
  
"Well then don't fall asleep in the car!" Ephram yelled from the bathroom.  
  
Andy walked downstairs and looked in the kitchen, "Cereal it is." He knew he wasn't 'aloud' to cook, so he didn't.  
  
Ephram walked down a minute later, "I see you're learning, dad." Ephram smiled, pointing to the food, "Looks good." He pulled some Raisin Bran from the pantry and sat next to his dad, "Who are you going to go see so early?" Ephram yawned.  
  
"Some girl who is pregnant, I had to reschedule because I heard you weren't at the hospital, and the only time she was free was this early in the morning." Andy yawned a few seconds after Ephram.  
  
"Isn't it bad to work when you're pregnant?"  
  
"Actually, not really, it helps the labor to come faster, just so long as you don't ever overwork yourself." Andy smiled at his sons concern for the person he didn't even know.  
  
"I'll try to keep that in mind when I become pregnant." Ephram smiled too, and then started to eat his cereal.  
  
Andy finished and rinsed his bowl, "I have to go, but I'll be home later today, are you going to school?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll have Bright come pick me up." Ephram looked at his dad, "Don't worry, I'm not up to anything, I promise." That was the first honest thing Ephram had told his dad in awhile.  
  
"Alright, well, I'll see you later. Make sure Delia doesn't forget her lunch!" Andy grabbed his coat and walked out the door.  
  
******  
  
Delia remembered her lunch, and but Ephram forgot to call Bright. He looked at his watch; it was seven-o-five. There was no way Bright would still be at home, but Ephram had to try. He called, but nobody answered, "It looks like I get to ride today...I can't wait until I turn sixteen!" Ephram looked outside, and to his surprise, Bright's truck was sitting in the driveway. Amy was getting out of the passengers side and running up the walkway.  
  
"Hey," She said as he opened the door, "We thought you might need a ride, so we came over." She smiled at him.  
  
"How did you know I was going to school?" Ephram was getting his backpack from the stairs.  
  
"I don't really know." Amy took him by the hand and they walked out together. "So," She said as they got in, "Did you sleep well?"  
  
"Yeah, I slept fine, sorry I didn't call you last night." Ephram and Amy's routine was for him to call her every night at nine, but he had missed that the past few nights.  
  
"It's okay, I'm sure you have a good excuse." Ephram swallowed hard, there was no way he could tell her he was talking to Annette, and she would never forgive him.  
  
"Um, I was really tired." That's all he said, and he wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling the whole truth.  
  
"I don't blame you; you've been through a bunch of stuff lately." Amy had no idea how true that was.  
  
All three of them got to school and went there separate ways, but Ephram had to steal a kiss before leaving Amy. It was there first kiss, and the timing, for some reason, seemed right.  
  
"What was that for?" She asked, smiling.  
  
"I don't know," He answered, "Everything." He ran down the hall as the bell rang, signaling that he was late.  
  
Amy was late too, but she didn't much care anymore, she was happy for the rest of the day.  
  
******  
  
Ephram had been taken home by Bright, of course. He ran inside, wondering if Annette had called. Delia was home, and standing by the phone, talking to someone. Ephram looked at the I.D. it read McMillan, again. Ephram's eyes got wide the same way they had before, and he looked at his little sister with a 'give me the phone' kind of look on his face.  
  
Delia knew what it meant, so she spoke into the phone, "Here he is I'll let you talk to him." She smiled and handed the phone to him, "She's nice." She added as she walked away.  
  
"I'm sorry, I don't even know why she's home right now." Ephram sighed.  
  
"I have a fever!" Delia squealed from the other room, "Just thought you'd like to know, your friend already does!"  
  
Ephram smiled, "So that's what it is." He rolled his eyes, "What's up?" Ephram realized he hadn't given Annette a chance to speak.  
  
"Not much, I just wanted to tell you I was off to see my parents, they should be here any minute. We're going out to eat." Annette was smiling again; it was even more obvious than the last time.  
  
"I see. Are you excited?"  
  
"Of course I am! I haven't talked to my parents in a long time; I'm surprised they even want to talk to me!" Ephram heard a car horn in the background, "I have to go, but I'll call you tonight!"  
  
"Uh, no, I don't think that's such a good idea. Just tell me how it goes tomorrow, okay?" Ephram waited a second for the reply.  
  
"That's fine, I'll talk to you then, bye!"  
  
This time Ephram got to say, "Bye, have fun," before Annette hung up. Everything seemed to be going fine so far.  
  
******  
  
Ephram took care of Delia, made sure she felt comfortable, and then went into his own room. He wondered how she got sick in the first place, but didn't worry about it much more after that. Then he realized she had been here alone for who knows how long, but she was asleep now, so he wasn't going to ask any questions.  
  
"I'll ask her later, at dinner maybe." Ephram was getting tired, although he didn't know why. He decided to close his eyes, just to give them a little rest. But before he knew it, he was in dreamland, but he wasn't having pleasant dreams.  
  
He was dreaming about his mother, and about the night she had died. He could remember it perfectly, like it happened only yesterday.  
  
**Dream**  
  
He remembered sitting at his recital, ready to go on, looking for his family in the audience, but seeing none of them, his heart fell.  
  
He knew his dad wasn't going to be there, because he never was, so that didn't worry him. But what about his mom, where was she? Ephram knew she had probably dropped Delia off at the babysitter's house, but why wasn't she here yet? That house wasn't that far away.  
  
Ephram decided to block it out of his mind, and he did. He didn't worry about her while he was playing, because it would distract him, and he couldn't have that happen, this moment was too big for him.  
  
He played beautifully, like he had done it a million times before, he pretty much had. But still, something was wrong; he looked for his parents out of the corner of his eye, and yet again, no one. He began to worry, but played as steadily as he could manage. The best thing he could do was to just look at the keys he was to play next, and so he did.  
  
Soon the thoughts of his missing mother flew away with the movement of his fingers. Every doubting thought in his mind was swept away in what seemed like a gentle breeze of music.  
  
Ephram knew it had to come to an end, and so it did. Ephram had played his last note, heard his last cheers as he walked off stage, and into the dressing rooms, were he went to change. He was still looking for his mom as he walked backstage, and still he saw no one.  
  
He just thought Delia got sick or something, and so she had to stay home, even though Delia seemed fine before he left. He turned a corner and then he saw them, the police officers and his piano teacher, Mrs. Dristan. She looked so upset, and when she saw Ephram, her face grew even gloomier. Ephram knew what had happened. Or so he thought he did.  
  
"So, what did my dad do to get arrested?" He was hoping that would be what the officers would tell him, but that wasn't it at all.  
  
"Oh Ephram, you did wonderfully tonight. I only wish your..." Mrs. Dristan trailed off in her speech.  
  
"My what? What is going on here?" Ephram then realized what was actually happening. His mom hadn't made it to the recital, and at the end there were officers waiting for him. It was all adding up, "Where is my mom?" Ephram backed away from his teacher's hand.  
  
"Son, I think you should sit down." One of the officers put a hand on Ephram's should, and guided him to the nearest room with a chair. Ephram had already begun shaking.  
  
"This can't be happening, what's really going on here? Please tell me she isn't..." Ephram couldn't bear to finish the rest.  
  
"I'm sorry Ephram, but I'm afraid I have some bad news." An officer started talking, "Your mother was on her way over here to be listen to you play your wonderful music, but the weather was just too rough. She couldn't control her car."  
  
"No, no," The officer kept talking while Ephram was saying this.  
  
"She went off the side of the road, she didn't feel anything, and she was killed instantly." The officer was trying to be reassuring, but it only made things worse.  
  
"NO!!!!" Ephram stood up and ran out of the room. He tried turning an extremely sharp corner when he slipped, hitting the floor harder than he could ever imagine. He blacked out, and that was the end of the worst night in his entire life.  
  
**End dream**  
  
Andy walked in the door of his house, expecting it to be nice and peaceful, since it was in the middle of the day. But when he walked in, Nina ran downstairs, "Hi," He was more than surprised to see her in his house, "Might I ask what you are doing here?"  
  
"Andy, Delia called me a few minutes ago, she said something about Ephram screaming and her not being able to wake him up. I came over as fast as I could, but he's still asleep and screaming." Nina looked very worried about the boy.  
  
Just then Andy heard the most terrifying scream he could ever imagine come from upstairs. He ran up to Ephram's room as fast as he could, "Ephram, son," Andy sat at his bedside, "Ephram, wake up." He shook him lightly, but when that didn't work, it became a little more fierce every second.  
  
Finally Ephram let out one last scream and then shot up in bed, with his father's arms still around him, "What's going on? Where am I?" Ephram thought that night was happening again, "Wha..." He finally got his bearings and looked at his dad, with tears in his eyes, "Oh no. Dad, it was horrible. I was reliving that night, when mom died." Ephram croaked a little as he spoke.  
  
"It's okay Ephram, it's all over now." Andy brought Ephram closer to his own body and embraced him, comforting him the whole time, "You're going to be fine, I promise." Andy held Ephram there for quite some time, but only because it made Ephram fell a lot better.  
  
Delia and Nina had walked out of the room, so the two guys could be alone. Delia had never seen Ephram so upset, and she never wanted to again. But soon something was going to happen that nobody expected, not even Ephram himself. 


	9. Scrabble

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
"Ephram, are you going to be okay?" Andy asked as Ephram sat up in bed.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine, it was just a dream." Andy knew Ephram was hurting inside, because he had never seen his son cry before, except one day on a mountain, but that was long before the hiking accident.  
  
"Ephram, tell me the truth, what is going on with you?" Andy was very concerned.  
  
"Dad," Ephram couldn't say anything about Annette, but he could tell his father about the other thing that kept bugging him, "Did you realize where mom was headed when she died?"  
  
Andy sat thinking for a minute, then it hit him, "Ephram this isn't your fault, she was on her way to see you in a bad storm, the weather did it, not you."  
  
"Yeah, but if I hadn't of had that recital that night, she would still be alive. But I did, and she's not." Ephram stared at a dartboard that was on his wall right in front of him, "Do you play darts much?"  
  
"What?" Andy was surprised at the sudden change in subject.  
  
"Do you play darts much?" Ephram repeated what was already once said.  
  
"Ephram, I'm a doctor, I don't have much time for anything anymore." Andy smiled.  
  
"Well do you want to play?" Ephram smiled back.  
  
"I'm not that good."  
  
"That's fine; it just means I can beat you." Ephram got out of bed and walked over to the board, taking the darts out one by one, "Here, you can go first." Ephram handed his father the darts.  
  
"Promise you won't hate me if I hit your Dallas cowboy cheerleader bathing suit edition calendar?" Andy joked as he threw the first dart; he hit it right in the middle.  
  
"Are you sure you haven't played before?" Ephram looked at the board, then at his dad.  
  
"Beginners luck I guess." Andy stepped back a little, not much, since he didn't have too much space in his son's room. He threw the next dart. It hit the wall, not the board.  
  
"I guess you were right." Ephram laughed as he looked at the second dart that had been thrown.  
  
Andy threw the third one, and it hit in almost the same spot as the second, "This is pathetic."  
  
"You're telling me?" Ephram was going to have holes all over his wall if his dad kept playing like this.  
  
Sure enough, Andy wasn't that great at all. By the time it was Ephram's turn, Andy had a score of 100, and that was from the first dart thrown, no other darts even made it on the board. Ephram did just fine. He scored a 350.  
  
"Well, that was fun." Andy looked at the clock, it was time for dinner. "So, what do you want to eat tonight?"  
  
"Dad, you're not cooking, I won't allow it." Ephram walked out of the room and down the stairs, where Nina and Delia were still sitting, "Hey, what do you want for supper?"  
  
"Is dad cooking?" Delia didn't see her father behind Ephram.  
  
"Nope, I am...I think." Ephram hadn't cooked much in his life, but when he did, it was with his mom, so he was always good at it.  
  
"Whatever you feel like making." That's all Delia said, but Ephram knew she was worried about him, even if she didn't say anything implying it.  
  
"Del, I can cook even if I don't feel good..." Ephram opened his big mouth too soon.  
  
"Why don't you feel good, Ephram?" Andy stepped closer to his son.  
  
"Um, I just have a little headache, I'll be fine." Ephram had to get the attention turned away from him, "Now Delia, she's the one that had a fever earlier, take care of her, not me." The second Andy walked over to Delia was the best second of Ephram's life. He didn't want his dad babying him just because of a little headache. Even if Ephram rarely, very rarely, got them.  
  
"So I guess I'll cook chicken and broccoli." Ephram walked into the kitchen, away from the very small crowd in the living room.  
  
******  
  
After dinner had to have been the most awkward moment for Ephram, because Amy had come over, just as the phone rang. Ephram answered the phone as Andy answered the door. The person on the phone was Annette.  
  
"Listen Annette, I can't talk right now, my girlfriend is here, and by the look on her face, she wants to talk about something." Ephram was whispering into the phone.  
  
"Oh, okay, that's fine..." Annette paused for a minute, "I just wanted to let you know it went well with my parents, and they want to spend a lot more time with me, so for the next few days our little 'meetings' are going to be canceled."  
  
"That's great!" Ephram spoke louder than he meant to, "So, I guess I'll talk to you in a few days. Please don't lose contact with me, though. If you don't call in a few days, I'm coming over to your house." Ephram knew everything would be fine now; it just seemed that things were going perfectly, almost too perfectly, but he didn't care. Things were working out.  
  
"I'll call you in three days, bye." Annette hung up, and so did Ephram.  
  
"Hey Amy, how are you?" Ephram wanted no questions asked about the phone call.  
  
"I'm fine, but we need to talk." Amy grabbed Ephram's arm and dragged him out the door, "I'm worried about you Ephram, and I really don't like how you're shutting me off from your life. We're supposed to help each other, but if you keep acting like this, I don't know how much longer 'we' will be." Amy put her hands up in the air and did the parenthesis finger thing. Ephram hated when she did that.  
  
"Look Amy. I'm sorry you feel left out, but if you do, so does everyone else, because I don't tell them anything either. I've been trying to keep something secret now for quite some time, but I had to let it out tonight. I nearly broke down in my sleep a few minutes before dinner." Ephram knew he was worrying Amy even more, "Sit down, I guess I should tell you what happened."  
  
Ephram explained his dream, and how much stress he had been under with school and everything, but he still didn't say anything about Annette, he didn't feel like he should anymore, since things were going just fine with her now, "That's why I've been acting strange, and now the hard pert is over, so I can get back to my normal life. I might run off to help someone every once in awhile, but if I do, please let me handle it by myself. If I feel like I should tell you, I will."  
  
Amy started to nod slowly, "Okay, that's fine. Just tell me if you need to talk about anything...Ever"  
  
"You've got it Grover." Ephram and Amy both smiled and walked back into the house, where it was nice and warm.  
  
"Have you two worked everything out?" Nina asked as they walked into the living room.  
  
"Yeah, everything is fine." Amy said, holding Ephram's hand.  
  
"So what's going on in here?" Ephram looked at the coffee table, which had scrabble pieces all over the place, "A friendly game of scrabble, I see."  
  
"Do you want to join us?" Delia looked at Amy hopefully.  
  
"Of course we do!" Amy sat beside Delia, and Ephram sat in between Amy and Nina.  
  
"Are you feeling better now, Ephram?" Andy looked at his son.  
  
"Uh, yeah." Ephram lied, his head still hurt unbelievably, but he wasn't going to make Amy, or his father, worry even more. He looked down at his letter stand, "Um, I can't make a word out of this." He said with a laugh, "Unless, of course, you want to count ZICFLAD as being a word."  
  
Amy leaned over to help Ephram, but he moved his letters so she couldn't see, "I'm just trying to help you out." Amy sat back up, knowing he wanted to play by himself, she wasn't offended, "Just put anything down there, but not ZICFLAD, it doesn't count."  
  
"I know, Aims." Ephram looked as hard as he could, but only for a minute, because his head started to hurt even more when he did that. He saw a three letter word, but he never liked to use small words. But, since it was the ONLY thing he could see, he did it. "There," He said after placing the word 'lid' onto the board, "That's the only thing I saw. Three more letters, please."  
  
"No promises you'll get anything better." Amy handed him the bag with letters, and she was right, nothing better came of it.  
  
"Oh look! Now I have...ZOFCHAQ, I have a Q without a U, yeah, and I thought this game is going so great for me!" Ephram looked at Amy in despair, "Do you still want to help me?"  
  
Amy scooted over to him, smiling at his innocence, "Let's see what we have here."  
  
"Oh, look what you have!" Ephram flipped a few letters around on Amy's board to make the word KISS.  
  
"Ephram!" Amy tapped Ephram on his head, which had an outcome she didn't expect. "Oh man." Ephram fell to the floor in sheer pain. He didn't think his head hurt that much, but apparently it did. He felt like crying, and he almost did. His eyes actually teared up.  
  
Amy looked down at Ephram scrunched up in the floor, "I didn't hit you that hard, Ephram." It kind of made her feel bad to think she might have.  
  
"I know you didn't, it's my head, not your hit." Ephram still lay on the floor, not daring to move, because he knew it would hurt.  
  
"I thought you said you were feeling better?" Andy stood up, walked over to Ephram, and kneeled down beside him.  
  
"I lied, dad. My head didn't hurt that bad when you asked me, but now it does. I thought it would go away." Ephram barely looked up at his dad.  
  
"Come here, I'll get you some Tylenol." Andy helped Ephram off the floor and led him into the kitchen, "I need to check you out really fast, too." Andy whispered, taking Ephram by the arm, "You guys keep playing. Amy, play Ephram's turn, we shouldn't be gone that long."  
  
Once they both reached the kitchen, Andy looked at his son, "Ephram, you can't keep these things from me. If you don't feel good, or your head hurts so much you nearly cry when your girlfriend taps you, you need to let me know!" Andy wasn't happy in any way.  
  
"I know dad, I'm sorry, but I thought I could handle it." Ephram sat at the table and laid his head down, he couldn't look at the light, it hurt too much, "Oh man, why does it hurt so much?"  
  
"You probably have a migraine because of all the stress you've put on yourself lately, once you take some Tylenol you'll be fine. But like I said, I need to check you out really fast, just to make sure." Andy left the room, and came back a minute later with his medicine bag, "Let's see here..."  
  
"Dad, I'm fine. There is no need for that. Just give me some asprin and then I'm going back to the game." Ephram walked over to his dad, holding his head.  
  
"Are you sure?" Andy looked up for a second, "Because if you start feeling bad at any point during scrabble..."  
  
"I'll be sure to let you know, now my head is killing me, I really would like the Tylenol now." Ephram held out his hand and took the small pills. He got a glass from the cabinet, and water from the sink. In one quick gulp the pills were gone and Ephram's headache was soon to be.  
  
"Okay, let's get back and see if we can do anything with ZOFCHAQ." Andy smiled and walked back into the living room with Ephram.  
  
"Amy, did you find something to do with my word?" Ephram sat back down beside her.  
  
"No, because you walked in right before I got the chance to." Amy smiled, pointing to his stand.  
  
"Well then I'll just walk out again." Ephram pretended to get up, but quickly sat back down again, "Let's see what we can do here." He looked at the board, and one word in particular caught his eye. It was the word KISS, what he had put on Amy's stand a few minutes before, "That's cute. Where did you get it from?" Ephram smiled.  
  
"A little piggy told me." Everyone looked at Amy, more than confused. But secretly Ephram knew what Amy meant. Ham was his nickname, as many of you know, so that was the 'little piggy' she was referring to.  
  
"Okay, well can a little blue ball of fluff help me?" Ephram looked at Amy, and then at everyone else, they were all still very confused.  
  
"Let's see." Amy sat close to Ephram for a minute, "Well, with the word already on the board..." Amy was more than puzzled; with all of the words on the board she should have been able to do something. And she could, she just couldn't decide what.  
  
Finally she just put the word HAS on the board, she had played it off of her word, and you already know what that is.  
  
"Oh thank you Aims; I have so many more points now. I appreciate it." Ephram was only kidding.  
  
"Anytime." Amy sat back up and looked at her board.  
  
The game went on like this for quite some time. Nobody thought Ephram would ever get a good stack of letters, but finally he did. He actually, in the end, wound up in third place; although, that is third out of five people. Andy was first, and Amy was second, but that was only because the little piggy kept helping the little blue ball of fluff.  
  
"Okay, that's enough for me, I'm going to bed." Ephram stood up and stretched for a minute, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Amy?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll have Bright come pick you up." Amy stood up and gave Ephram a quick kiss on the lips, and then walked out the door.  
  
"Ephram, how is she getting home?" Nina stood up.  
  
"I really don't know." Ephram ran to the door and opened it, "Amy!" He couldn't see her anywhere, "Amy, where are you?"  
  
"I'm right here." She walked around some big bushes.  
  
"Oh, I thought I had missed you...How are you getting home?" Ephram looked around for a car of any sort, but saw nothing.  
  
"I'm walking." To Ephram, Amy was out of her mind. It was cold outside, and they both knew that.  
  
"Why don't you wait a minute and my dad or Nina can take you." Amy stood there for a minute, and then walked back into the house, "There is no way I am going to let you walk home when it's that clod outside. I don't want you getting sick."  
  
Amy smiled at Ephram's concern, just like his innocents, "I would have been fine, Ham." Amy sat back on the couch, "So, who am I waiting for?"  
  
"I guess that would be me." Dr. Brown walked around the corner holding his keys and a jacket, "I'm taking you home. Nina needs to get back to her son." He smiled at Nina, who was already halfway out the door.  
  
"I'll see you guys later!" She walked outside with everyone waving.  
  
Andy and Amy walked out the door just a few minutes after Nina, leaving Ephram and Delia alone. Ephram went straight upstairs, but Delia stayed down. She said she was going to watch some TV.  
  
"I am so tired." Ephram lay down on his bed and closed his eyes, but couldn't get to sleep. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't get the images of the night his mom died out of his head. But, finally, he decided he would just deal with it and go to sleep. He slowly fell into a dreamless sleep.  
  
To Ephram this was a good thing, because he didn't want to keep having the dream he had earlier. And, besides that dream, all in all Ephram had had a good day. 


	10. Blown Off

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
Ephram woke up early the next day, but not too early. It was about five- thirty when he looked at his clock, and he had been awake for over twenty minutes, just sitting in bed. He hadn't been thinking about anything, just sitting there, doing nothing.  
  
He finally decided to get up and start getting ready for school. He took a shower and got dressed. He got his books and homework together and put them in his backpack. He went down to the kitchen to get some breakfast, but when he looked at the clock in there, it was five till seven. Apparently he had taken more time than he thought. He ran to the window to see if Bright was in the driveway, he had just pulled up.  
  
"Well, there goes starting this well." Ephram grabbed his bag and walked outside. He was extremely hungry, but he would have to wait until lunch, even if lunch would probably kill him. The food was always awful.  
  
"How are you doing today, Ephram?" Amy scooted over to the middle.  
  
"I've been better." Amy looked at him with a small hint of concern on her face, "I didn't get any breakfast and I'm starving." Ephram smiled so she didn't feel bad.  
  
"Oh, well we can stop for something on the way, can't we Bright?" Amy nudged her brother in the side.  
  
"If you want to man, that would be fine with me." Bright looked over at Ephram, who looked half asleep.  
  
Ephram sat still for a minute, "Whatever, I don't care." He kept looking out the front.  
  
"Well then, I guess we're going to the diner really fast." Bright made a right turn where he would normally go straight, "Dude, I'll pay for this, you look wiped."  
  
"That's about how I feel." Ephram gave him a small smile and then closed his eyes.  
  
Amy watched Bright walk inside the diner, and then turned to Ephram, "are you feeling okay? You don't look so good."  
  
He reopened his eyes and looked at Amy, "I'm fine, I just need some breakfast, and then I'll be set for the rest of the day."  
  
Ephram wasn't joking. When Bright came back out and gave him his food, Ephram was as happy as could be, and he looked a lot better, too. He went through the day without a care in the world. He had actually forgotten about Annette for awhile, until he came home and saw there was a message on his machine.  
  
He was the only one home, because his dad had to work late, and Delia was still at school. He pushed the button on the answering machine, and then walked into the kitchen to get something else to eat, he was still hungry.  
  
"Hey Ephram, this is Annette." Something about her sounded different. It wasn't a good different either, "I think we need to talk. My parents blew me off earlier today, but I didn't do anything." Ephram walked back into the entryway, holding a piece of bread in his hand, "I'm at home and I'm going to be here all day. Please, whenever you get this come over. I really need to talk to someone, really bad." There was a sound in the background, like somebody else was there, but no alarm really went off in Ephram's head, "Please come over as soon as you can. It isn't a big deal, but I do need to talk to you." Ephram was wondering why Annette kept repeating the same thing over and over again. He began to get a little worried, "Well, I guess I'll see you whenever you get here. Bye." She hung up with a bit of difficulty, and that wasn't like her either.  
  
Ephram stood by the phone for a minute, thinking. 'Okay, she said her parents blew her off earlier today, but why would they do that? Why, after saying they wanted to get to know her again, or something, would they do that?'  
  
Ephram didn't really care at that moment; he just needed to get to Annette's place, in the next town over. "This should be fun. How am I going to get there, I only went to the bridge before!" Ephram talked to himself as he went to his bike.  
  
Just before he rode out of the driveway, Bright pulled up, "Hey Ephram, you left your backpack in here. I was just returning it..." Bright looked at Ephram and realized he was leaving, "Where are you going? It's freezing outside."  
  
"I have to go to a friend's house." Ephram looked at Bright and hoped he would just leave, but the red truck just stayed in the driveway, "I have to go." Before he could be stopped, Ephram was out of the driveway and down the street. By the time Bright pulled out of the Brown's driveway, Ephram had turned a corner and was now well on his way to Annette's house.  
  
******  
  
By the time Ephram reached Annette's driveway it was four, and he was worn out. He got off of his bike and ran to the door, "Annette, are you in there?" Ephram called for her before he even knocked. There was really no need to even do that, because she was sitting by the window waiting for him.  
  
"It took you long enough to get here." Annette was smiling, and that really confused Ephram.  
  
"Sorry, I had to ride my bike here," Ephram looked back and pointed to his mode of transportation, "It doesn't go very fast.  
  
Annette laughed a little, "I can see that." She opened the door wider and let Ephram inside.  
  
"So, do you have any idea as to why your folks blew you off today?" Ephram took a seat on the couch.  
  
"No, I didn't do anything. I just walked outside when they pulled up, and when I walked up to the car my mom rolled down the window and looked at me, almost as if she were disgusted or something. She told me that they couldn't take me out today, but maybe tomorrow. They pulled away fast, Ephram. It was like they were trying to get away from me."  
  
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe they were busy and couldn't get in contact with you?" Ephram thought he was wasting time there, because Annette was worrying about silly little things.  
  
"Well, yeah. But this was different. They really didn't look very happy for some reason, and I get this weird feeling that that reason is me." Annette sat down beside Ephram, to him, she seemed a little too close, "I don't know why they don't like me, I didn't do anything wrong."  
  
Annette was getting to close for Ephram's comfort, but he didn't do anything, because he just thought she was upset. He sat thinking for a minute, "Maybe they were mad at somebody else, and that's why they were busy, and so they couldn't talk with you today." Annette scooted a little closer to Ephram.  
  
"Yeah, maybe, but maybe they don't want me anymore. They don't know me that well, and they might have thought I was the same girl they threw out before. But I've changed, Ephram. I really have." Ephram was beginning to get very uncomfortable with Annette as close as she was. She had scooted right up next to him, and was now practically breathing down his neck.  
  
"Uh, Annette," Ephram jumped up from his seat, "I really don't like the way this little 'talk' is going, and I have to do...Um, something...Like spend time with my girlfriend, but, uh, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Maybe you should give you parents another shot, they might have just had something else to do today that took up there time with you." Ephram backed toward the door slowly, "I have to go, uh, nobody knows where I am." He opened the door and walked out, leaving Annette alone with her thoughts.  
  
******  
  
Ephram had run out of the house in a panic, he didn't know what had gotten into Annette, and he didn't want to stick around to find out. She would be fine, and he knew that. He had also gotten on his bike, and was now heading for Amy's house. He didn't want to go home just yet.  
  
"I can't believe this." Ephram was in so much shock because of what Annette had almost done that he wasn't really watching where he was going, "Wh...What made her think that was okay?" Ephram was disturbed by the whole matter, but he knew he would have to clear his head before he got to where he was going.  
  
'I'll just give her some time and then see if she realizes what she did.' Ephram was in deep thought about the whole thing while he was riding back to Everwood. He didn't want to think that Annette was actually trying to do anything with him, but he also knew it was a possibility.  
  
He was so deep in thought that when he was about to cross the bridge he didn't see that an old pick-up truck was coming right at him. The thing was, the truck wasn't in the wrong lane, but Ephram was. By the time he noticed the vehicle, it was about twenty feet away from him. He was about to get hit. 


	11. Water

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
Ephram quickly realized the danger he was in, and did the first thing that came to his mind. He jerked his bike vigorously to the left toward the side of the bridge. Luckily he didn't get hit, the truck sped by with only inches to spare, and he never stopped. Ephram wasn't safe yet. He had looked back at the truck without stopping his bike. He was going so fast when he turned around that hitting the brakes didn't help.  
  
When he had turned back around what he saw wasn't very encouraging. He was going straight for the edge, and like I said before, he couldn't stop. His bike hit the edge of the high bridge violently, and Ephram was thrown off. He hoped he was only going to land on the sidewalk, but that hope was soon yanked into a wish of what could have happened.  
  
Ephram had been thrown over the edge, and was now falling toward the icy water below. He didn't want to swim, not today; he didn't have the time, or energy to do so. But that was what he was going to have to do if he wanted to stay alive.  
  
Ephram hit the water with unbelievable force, and nearly blacked out after being pulled under, but he, with much force, swam his way to the top. Even though Ephram knew how to swim very well, it wouldn't be easy. The water was not very calm, and Ephram was getting colder with every second that went by. His head went under water several times, causing Ephram to cough painfully into the frigid air.  
  
"Help!" Ephram finally attempted to scream after drawing in enough air to breathe properly.  
  
No help was in sight, and he was being swept further and further down river even as he tried paddling to the side. It was no use; he didn't have the strength to go anywhere. He was too cold and scared, but he knew he had to keep trying. He couldn't die just yet, he had to be there for Annette, and make sure she would be okay.  
  
So, with all of his might, Ephram started swimming to the right side of the small river, and to his surprise, he was actually moving! He kept moving his arms and legs in a steady pace so he would stay above water, and get to safety. He, in time, made it to the edge and started grasping for rocks and small branches sticking out of the ground, but he couldn't reach anything.  
  
Ephram was at least a mile down river now, and had no idea if he would be able to make it all the way back to the bridge, and his bike. He finally grabbed hold of a small boulder and held on for dear life. His body was still moving in the current, but his head was above water, and he was staying in one place. Now all he had to do is pull himself out...Ephram had thought the hard part was over.  
  
******  
  
Andy walked into a deserted house, questioning the things he didn't hear. He was almost positive Ephram would be home by now. Then he saw the flashing light on the answering machine. He walked over to it and pushed the small button that said play.  
  
He didn't have to listen to the whole message, because after hearing small parts, he knew what had happened to his son. He had to go back to that Annette girl's house, and get his son out of there. Ephram had been told by the police not to get into any trouble with her, and here he his getting all buddy-buddy with her. This was beginning to make Andy worry.  
  
He got back into his car and drove toward Annette's place. A few minutes had passed and Andy was nearing the bridge between the two cities, if you could count Everwood as a city. He started to drive over, but something on the right sidewalk caught his eye.  
  
He looked over and saw that it was a bike, Ephram's bike, Andy was almost sure of it. He looked it over carefully, and knew his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. His son's bike was lying on the side of a bridge, and it looked a bit beating up. He then realized that it must have hit the side, and Ephram...A father never wants to think of such things, but he knew it had to have been true. Ephram had gone over the edge; and there was no telling if he was dead or alive.  
  
******  
  
Ephram had attempted to climb out of the icy water many times, and every time he failed. He was shaking too much to move now, and he had almost given up hope. He knew what he had to do.  
  
He opened his mouth and took the deepest breath he could manage, which wasn't very deep, "Help, please! Somebody help me!" Ephram was surprised to hear his voice so weak and squeaky; he didn't think he was that tired.  
  
But he kept yelling, and yelling, and yelling. He yelled until he thought he couldn't make another sound, and then he stopped. No one had come. It was useless, he was practically dead already. Ephram wished he hadn't even met Annette, then none of this would have happened.  
  
He would be safe at home right now, probably reading a comic book or talking on the phone with Amy. He wouldn't have passed out so many times, and he wouldn't of had to escape from the hospital and get grounded. He knew his life was coming to what seemed like rock bottom, but he couldn't be quite sure yet. He wanted to die, actually. But that was probably just the cold getting to him. Ephram had given up hope, and he decided the best thing to do would be to just let go. Nobody would miss him that much...That thought was because of the cold, too.  
  
Ephram closed his eyes tight and let his fingers loose from the rock, and he moved for a split second. But then he realized that something was wrong, he opened his eyes again and he was just sitting in one spot. He looked at his arm and saw there was a hand wrapped around his wrist.  
  
"I'm not going to let you go! You're too important to me for that to happen!" Ephram looked up and into his father's eyes. He had never been so glad to see that face.  
  
"I...I'm...Fre...Freezing, dad." Ephram could barely speak those words.  
  
"I'll have you out in a second Ephram." Andy pulled with all his might and slowly pulled Ephram onto the grass.  
  
As soon as Ephram touched solid ground, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he remembered nothing more.  
  
******  
  
Ephram woke up at his house. He was surprised when he opened his eyes, because he was almost certain he would have been in the hospital. He tried to speak, but his voice was still gone. He looked around the room, but no one was there.  
  
Ephram tried sitting up, but became very dizzy.  
  
"Whoa Ephram, lay back down." Andy walked into the room and put a hand on his son's shoulder, "You've had a rough trip." He smiled softly.  
  
Ephram cleared his throat and started to talk in a small whisper, "Dad, why am I not at the hospital?"  
  
"You've seen enough of those. Besides, all you need is a good nights rest and to be warm in your own bed and your bed is here, at home." Andy smiled again and then left the room, but he soon returned with a sly smile on his face this time.  
  
"What?" Ephram got a little uncomfortable when he saw that look.  
  
"I have someone here who wants to see you." Ephram looked over the top of the couch and saw standing there above him was Annette, "She came from her house just in time to see me carrying you from the river, and she practically jumped out of her car to see if you were alright. She followed me back here, and has hardly left you side, not that you have been unconscious that long."  
  
"I was coming to see if you were home so I could apologize for what I did, and I really am sorry. I don't know what came over me, but that meeting wasn't supposed to go that way. It was just supposed to be a nice friendly chat among two people, but it turned into me hitting on you, which is something I never should have done." Annette looked down at her feet and began shuffling them around on the floor.  
  
"Annette, trust me, I figured you didn't mean to do it...Well, you meant to do it, but..." Ephram was beginning to confuse himself, so he just looked at her and said, "All is forgiven, you don't have to worry about me pressing charged or anything." Annette looked back up at him and smiled.  
  
"So we're still cool?" She smiled a little bigger.  
  
"Of course, nothing could change our friendship, even if I wanted it to..." Then Ephram remembered why all of this happened. It was because of Annette's parents. They had, for some reason, blown her off earlier that day, "Annette, did you talk to your parents?"  
  
The smile was all of a sudden wiped off of her face as she looked into Ephram's eyes, "Yeah, they told me we would talk tomorrow, but it didn't sound too good. I'm sure it's nothing and I'm just over reacting, but I guess we'll see tomorrow, won't we?" Annette's smile returned once more, but it looked uneasy this time.  
  
"Okay Annette, I hate to do this to you, but I think you need to go home. Ephram needs his rest and by the sound of it you've had a hard day too." Andy slowly led Annette to the door, "By the way," He added in a small whisper so Ephram couldn't hear, "You've caused my son a lot of trouble, and I would appreciate it if you would give him a break." Andy didn't know what the outcome of what he just said would be, but if he had at that time, he wouldn't have said it, trust me.  
  
"Um, okay, that's fine." Annette opened the door and walked outside. She didn't like Ephram's dad any farther than she could throw him. And she didn't plan to revisit Ephram while Andy was there.  
  
That was only one of the things that led Annette to make a drastic decision, the next...And worst, is yet to come. Read chapter twelve, whenever it gets written and uploaded, and you will see what I am talking about! 


	12. Getting There

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
Ephram fell asleep shortly after Annette left, he didn't even remember his dad walking back in the room and covering him up. Ephram hadn't really been that cold, and his clothes were nice and warm, because his dad had gotten him into new ones.  
  
Ephram had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep, and he didn't really mind that, because he wasn't in the mood for any bad dreams that he may have had. He had had a long day, and it wasn't even over yet. He wanted to be able to see Amy, but now that he was like this, that didn't look like it was going to happen.  
  
But it did, because Ephram woke up about three hours later, still laying on the couch, and there was Amy, sitting in the chair next to him. He was happy to see her, and she must have felt the same by the look on her face.  
  
"Hey sleeping beauty!" She smiled at him with a small look of concern in her eyes, "Your dad told me what happened. How are you felling?"  
  
"Fine I guess." Ephram's voice had fully returned, "But I'm not quite sure yet, I'm still a little cold." He pulled the covers closer to his chin, "When did you get here?"  
  
"About ten minutes ago. I just wanted to see you for some reason, and so I thought I would drop by. But when your dad answered the door I got the news. I knew I couldn't leave you, so I stayed here." Amy got that look in her eyes like she was in a far off place, but Ephram wanted her back in his house.  
  
"Well," He said, making her jump a little, "I'm glad you did stay. I was just on my way to see you when this happened." Ephram yawned, but he wasn't tired.  
  
"What exactly did happen, Ephram? Because your dad didn't know the whole story, he just knew that you fell into the river, and he had to pull you out, and right after he did you passed out." Amy sat on the edge of her seat as if anticipating what he was about to say.  
  
"I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going," Ephram wasn't going to say why, "And when I finally did, I realized I was in the wrong lane, with a pick-up truck coming at me. By the time I swerved out of the way and turned back to see where I was going this time, I was nearly over the edge of the bridge. I tried to stop, but, as you can see, that didn't work very well." He smiled and looked up at her, "And you know the rest."  
  
"Yeah I do." Amy started playing with her fingers, and Ephram knew something was wrong, "What's been going on with you lately? You've been getting into a lot of trouble, and it mainly has to do with that Annette girl." Amy wasn't positive about what she was saying, but it sounded right.  
  
"Amy, I really wish I could tell you, but I can't. It's too important to her, and me. If I did tell you it would cause more trouble than I could handle, and that wouldn't be good. I promise you will find out soon, I just can't tell you now. I'm pretty sure we've been over this." Ephram tried smiling at her, but her face told him to wipe it off.  
  
"Ephram, I am getting really tired of this. I try to help you and you just push me away. You've been under some stress lately, and I understand that. But you can't keep acting like nothing is going on, like we aren't together. You spend more time with Annette what's-her-face than you do with me!" Amy stood up with aggravation, "I really don't want to do this..."  
  
"Then don't!" Ephram interrupted. He knew what was coming, and more than anything he didn't want it to happen.  
  
"Ephram, I have to. You've gone too far, and you can't turn back. I think it would be best if we just didn't see each for awhile, and when you do decide to talk to me, it had better be with an explanation as to why we aren't REALLY together!" Amy walked furiously out of the house, slamming the door behind her.  
  
And just think that was just the beginning of Ephram's big problems.  
  
******  
  
Annette had made it home with a lot to think about. She was concerned about Ephram, and the fact that he was even the house with that man...She really didn't think he should be growing up with someone like that. Andy didn't even know her, and he was telling her to get lost without reason.  
  
Well, Annette had something she was going to do about that. She was going to spend more time with Ephram, like get him out of the house more. But before long, something was going to interfere with that, that nobody could stop.  
  
******  
  
Ephram just sat on the couch, not doing anything. He didn't want to cry, but he didn't want to move. What he wanted just dumped him, and he had no say in it. He tried his hardest to convince himself to get off the couch, but he was too upset. He knew dinner would be here soon, because his dad just ordered pizza, Ephram heard Andy on the phone, so he would have to move sometime.  
  
Even though he felt like crap, Ephram got to his feet and walked into the kitchen. "What was that slam I heard a minute ago?" Andy was getting plates from the cabinet.  
  
"Oh that? It was nothing, just Amy breaking up with me and storming out." Ephram sat down at the table.  
  
"Really? I thought you two were getting along nicely. Is there a reason she broke up with you?"  
  
"No dad, she just did for the fun of it." Ephram wasn't in the mood to talk right then.  
  
"You know, you shouldn't be off of the couch right now, you have got to be freezing." Andy didn't want Ephram getting sick.  
  
"I'm fine dad, I'm not cold. I just feel a little tired, that all." He put his head on the table and nearly fell asleep immediately, so he picked his head back up, "Okay, more tired than I thought."  
  
"Why don't you go up to bed? I'll bring dinner to you whenever it gets here." Dr. Brown put two plates on the table, and put one back in the cabinet where he first got it from.  
  
"That sounds good to me, I might call Annette." Ephram looked up at his dad, who looked less than happy about those last few words.  
  
"I don't know if that's such a good idea. I don't like you two hanging out together this much. She's caused a lot of trouble in your life, and I'm just watching out for you."  
  
"Dad, I have to stick with her. And the more time I spend with her, the better. It means she won't ki..." Ephram stopped before he said anymore. He almost made his life even worse.  
  
"It means she won't what?" Andy hadn't realized Ephram's near giveaway.  
  
"Nothing, it doesn't mean anything." Ephram stood up and walked to his room.  
  
Once he got there his heart was racing. It almost seemed impossible to walk up the stairs. Ephram had never felt so bad in his life, but that might have been because he had never been thrown off of a bridge and into a freezing cold river.  
  
"I can't believe this. My own father trying to keep me away from the only friend I have left. If Amy won't talk to me, Bright won't for sure." Ephram then realized what this meant, "Oh great! I'll be pulverized before I reach 11th grade! Bright is going to kill me for breaking his little sisters heart...Even if she's the one that broke up with me!"  
  
He sat on his bed thinking for awhile, but was soon interrupted by the phone ringing. Luckily it was Annette; he had forgotten he said he was going to call her when he was downstairs.  
  
"Hello?" Ephram reached the phone, but not as easily as it should have been. Like he said before, he was more tired than he thought.  
  
"Hey Ephram!" Annette was unusually perky.  
  
"Hey Annette."  
  
"Do you want to go out later? Like, maybe to Clix or something?" This was really weird for Ephram, because he had never been asked out before. Especially never by someone who had said they were going to kill themselves.  
  
But then he thought of what his father had said. He didn't like that Ephram was hanging out with Annette, but Andy would have to get over that, because if Ephram wanted a life, Annette was his best shot.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds great." Then he got that awkward feeling again, the one he had gotten when he was at Annette's house earlier, "Um, actually, I don't know." He didn't want that to happen again, even if she said it wouldn't.  
  
"Ephram, I was wrong to do what I did earlier. We're just friends, and that's all we'll ever be, and I know that. Please don't be afraid of me just because of one mistake I made." Annette wasn't so perky anymore.  
  
Ephram took a deep breath and let it out, "Okay, if you're sure about that," He laughed a little, "Because I felt really weird about that earlier, and I don't know if I want to go flying off anymore bridges. I don't think I could handle much more of anything right now." The pain of Amy's breakup was beginning to kick in, "Um, could we meet right now? I really don't want to stay at home."  
  
"Yeah sure. Do you need me to come pick you up?"  
  
Pick up? He had just been dumped, and he was now going to get picked up? This night should be fun, "Um, no, that's okay. If you can just meet me at the bridge that would be great." Ephram hung up the phone without letting Annette say another word. The bridge is where he wanted to meet, and he didn't want Annette to say any other place.  
  
The only problem with meeting with Annette would be that he had to get out of the house. And if he wanted to get out of the house in his condition, it would require sneaking out. This is the one thing Ephram had been waiting to do for quite some time. He had made escape plans when he was grounded, and now he had the chance to use them.  
  
All Ephram knew was that he had to get to Annette. 


	13. Paying For It

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
Ephram had made it out of his room window with ease. He had never done it before, but it didn't bother him, even though he nearly slipped at first. He jumped down without making a sound, and ran straight for Chestnut.  
  
It wasn't easy running at such a fast pace, because Ephram still felt absolutely horrible from flying into the river. He knew he would have to deal with it, and deal with it he did. He made it all the way to the bridge with Annette waiting for him. She smiled when he ran up right next to her.  
  
"I didn't think you were going to make it." Annette was glad to see him.  
  
"I didn't either. I almost fell off my roof, and nearly passed out three times on the way." Even with all Ephram said he was still smiling.  
  
"Well let's get you back to my house and warm you up. You look freezing."  
  
"That might be because I am." Ephram hugged himself to keep warm.  
  
Annette had driven her car to the bridge, and for that Ephram was grateful. It had heat, and a good enough radio, so he was happy. They got to her house and went inside, Ephram was practically running.  
  
"It isn't that cold out here!" Annette ran after him.  
  
"That's easy for you to say! You didn't get tossed over a bridge by your bike...If you even have one." Ephram smiled and sat down on the couch.  
  
"I'll turn up the heat so you'll be comfortable."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Ephram sat patiently as Annette walked out of the room to the thermostat. She soon walked back into the room and asked, "Do you want anything to drink? I've got hot chocolate if you want it."  
  
"No thanks, I'm not much of a cocoa drinker. I'm more of a coffee kind of guy." Annette knew he was joking, "I really don't want anything to drink right now."  
  
"Ok, well, how are you doing? I mean, how is it going with you and your girlfriend?"  
  
When the final word came out of Annette's mouth, Ephram thought back to earlier that day. He hated the thought of not being with Amy, she always knew how to make him smile, even when he thought he was at his lowest.  
  
"Uh, we broke up earlier today." Ephram was playing with his fingers, not having anything else to twist around.  
  
"Oh I'm sorry. Was it a mutual thing?"  
  
Ephram sat thinking, and after a minute he spoke, "Heh, not really. She broke up with me because of the way I've been acting lately. She meant me hanging out with you, and not telling her why." Ephram looked up at Annette again, "I haven't told anyone why we are together so much."  
  
Those words made Annette feel more comfortable. She didn't want anyone knowing what was going on with her, it didn't seem right for anyone to know, "Thanks, I appreciate that." She went and sat beside him.  
  
"No problem." He knew he probably should have told somebody by now, because not all of the signs of Annette's suicidal thought had left. She was still vulnerable, and Ephram knew that. "This is going to sound really weird, but can I crash here for a few nights? I really don't want to go back home right now."  
  
"Yeah, sure, that would be fine. I can make up the couch so you can sleep on it, or you can take my bed."  
  
Ephram didn't want to intrude, and the couch sounded fine, "This is great," He patted the couch, "I don't like taking over other peoples thing, so the couch has my name on it."  
  
"Okay." She walked out of the room once more and came back in with some sheets, a blanket, and two pillows, "I can't promise a great night's sleep, but it will have to do if you want to stay here."  
  
"That's fine; I don't sleep well much anymore anyway." Ephram had been having bad nights these past few times, and tonight looked like it would be better than anything else he had had for awhile.  
  
******  
  
Annette and Ephram spent several hours talking about little things, nothing really important. Before either of them knew it, it was twelve fifty five. It was probably a good thing the next day was a Saturday.  
  
They both made the couch up together, and when they were finished Ephram laid down. He was more tired than he thought he was, and so was Annette. He fell asleep right after he got settled, but Annette, for some reason, stayed and watched him sleep.  
  
When he woke up the next morning she was still sitting in the chair, except she was asleep now. He smiled and quietly got off the couch. He walked into the kitchen, looked through her cabinets, and began making breakfast. He wanted to pay her back since she let him stay there for a few days.  
  
He wasn't the best cook, but at least he didn't fill the house with smoke like his father usually did. Ephram wandered if Andy even realized his son was missing. 'Probably not,' Ephram thought, 'He doesn't care about me.'  
  
But Ephram could help thinking back to just yesterday, when his father saved him from getting swept away in a rough current. Ephram could have been killed, but his dad saved him just in time.  
  
"Ephram?" A voice made him jump. He turned and saw Annette standing in the doorway.  
  
"Oh, hey Annette, I was just fixing breakfast, I hope you don't mind." He wasn't normally this uneasy around people, but something about Annette just made Ephram feel weird. It was a good weird, but still strange to him.  
  
She sleepily walked further into the room, "Oh no, I don't mind. As long as you promise not to burn down the house it's fine." She sat at the table and yawned.  
  
Ephram laughed a little, "No, I won't burn anything, except maybe the food."  
  
"That's fine too." Annette was obviously still very tired.  
  
"Go back to sleep, in your own bed. I just started breakfast so it won't be done for a while, I'll get you when it's finished." He didn't like people waiting on him.  
  
"That sounds good to me." Annette said with a yawn. She got up and stumbled out of the room. Ephram couldn't help but smile.  
  
******  
  
Ephram and Annette spend the whole weekend like this. He always cooked the breakfast, and she always ate it, happily. She never heard from her parents, but at that point, she didn't really care. She and Ephram were getting a lot closer, and that made her happy.  
  
Ephram still had that uneasy feeling about Annette, but he was learning to ignore it. He fell asleep early Sunday night, since he had to go to school the next day.  
  
******  
  
"Ephram, you need to get up." Ephram was woken up by a gentle shake.  
  
"Five more minutes dad." Ephram rolled over, but when he did he fell off the couch, "Huh? I'm up, I'm up." He drowsily looked around the room and remembered where he was, "Oh, hey Annette."  
  
"Hey." Annette looked at him with a little concern, "Are you okay? You look wiped."  
  
"And it seems that I look like this to everyone." Ephram remembered other people saying that about him in the past, "I'm fine. I need to get to school though." He looked at the clock and it was 6:52, "I'm going to be late!"  
  
He stood up and walked out the door, still wearing the same clothes he had been for the past three days. He realized this and walked back in, "You don't happen to have any clothes I could borrow, do you?"  
  
"Actually, yeah, I do. My ex-boyfriend never got his clothes from my place, so I threw them in the closet. They might be a little big, but I think they're about your size."  
  
They were almost perfect for Ephram, just a little baggy, just the way he liked his clothes. The only problem was, they weren't really his style. He would have to get over that, "Thanks, I owe you one." With that, Ephram ran out the door and headed for school. First period would be over by the time he got there.  
  
******  
  
Ephram walked into the school building just after the bell for second period rang, 'Good,' he thought, 'Nobody will know I'm late.'  
  
He ran down the hall straight towards his chemistry class, his worst subject. That was one of the few classes he shared with Amy. He wasn't looking forward to seeing her again.  
  
He walked in and, of course, there she was, staring at the door, waiting for him. But not for the normal reason, she looked very worried. About what Ephram was about to find out.  
  
"Ephram," She walked up to him and talked in a quiet whisper, "Where have you been? Your dad called me Saturday and told me you were missing. He keeps calling my house and asking me if I've seen you. He's really upset."  
  
Ephram knew he was about to get in over his head, and he might never get to talk to Amy again, "I can't tell you right now. I have to go sit down."  
  
Ephram walked right past her and went to his seat. The day went on like this, and Ephram couldn't stand a single minute of it. He kept avoiding Amy, but she knew something he didn't.  
  
She had called Dr. Brown. She knew where Ephram had been, because whenever he says, 'I can't tell you about it,' it means he's with Annette. During lunch she had called him, and he was not very happy.  
  
School let out and Ephram left immediately. He walked right past Bright and his group of friends, which was one of his worst ideas yet.  
  
"Hey dude, where are you going?" Bright grabbed Ephram by his sleeve, "And where did you get these clothes?" He laughed a little.  
  
Ephram stood, looking like he was thinking about an answer, "None of your business, and someplace." He pulled himself away from Bright's grip and started walking again.  
  
"Don't walk away from me," Bright grabbed him again, "I haven't finished with you yet." Bright gave Ephram a stern look and held him so he couldn't move or get away, "You broke my little sister's heart, and you're going to pay for that."  
  
"Why should I pay for it? She broke up with me!" Ephram tried getting away, but it wasn't possible, Bright was too angry.  
  
"She's still upset, and it's because of you!" Bright pushed Ephram to the ground, he landed with a nasty thud and the hard concrete.  
  
"What's up with you, man? I didn't do anything!" Ephram struggled to his feet, only to be pushed down again.  
  
"You aren't getting away so easy." Bright's buddies came up behind him and started smiling awkwardly at Ephram.  
  
'This can't be good.' Ephram thought to himself, 'I've got to get out of here.' He attempted to get to his feet and run, but he couldn't stand up, he kept tripping over himself.  
  
Bright laughed and said, "Get him."  
  
Ephram tried once more to get up, and this time he succeeded. He started running, but didn't get very far. One of Bright's friends came up behind him and tackled him. He, once again, hit the ground hard.  
  
Everything went fuzzy for a second, but after the first punch to his chest, Ephram could see straight. It knocked the wind out of him, and he couldn't regain his breath again for quite some time.  
  
He received another blow to his stomach, and then to his jaw. Ephram kept trying to push them off, but it was like there were a million of them, they never stopped coming.  
  
Finally a break came for Ephram. He could hear a girl screaming, telling them to stop. He looked up and saw Amy pushing everyone away from him. He just stayed on the ground, not caring to move. He hurt too much to go anywhere.  
  
Amy ran back to Ephram and knelt down beside him, "Are you alright?" Now she looked more worried than ever.  
  
"Depends on what alright is to you." Ephram looked at her and smiled, and then started to cough wildly.  
  
"Ephram, we need to get you to a doctor, like your dad."  
  
"No!" Ephram pushed Amy away, "No, I'm fine...I have to go." He stood up and started walking away. He stopped when Amy called after him.  
  
"I still love you, Ephram!" He didn't turn around, he just kept walking. He was never going back to that school.  
  
Hell, he was never going back home. 


	14. It's Come to This

Right Place, Wrong Time  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
A/N: The last chapter I had posted was NOT the chapter that my friend helped me on, this is the chapter she helped me on. This is the final chapter in this story, and yes there will be another story coming! The name of it is in the story, at the end, but you have to read and find out what it is. My friend doesn't even know how I put her ideas into here! Please, please, PLEASE review for me! It would be greatly appreciated, and I really appreciate the reviews I have previously gotten. Thank you and enjoy!  
Ephram struggled to get back to Annette's house. He was fighting the feeling he had inside, he really wanted to go back to Amy, but he also knew that he couldn't. She had let him go, and he wasn't going back.  
  
He made it past the bridge, and then into the now familiar houses and faces of Annette's small street. Everyone waved at Ephram as he walked by, but they never said anything.  
  
He finally turned into her driveway, and saw that Annette was sitting on her porch step, waiting for him. She didn't look very happy. In fact, she was crying. He started walking faster so he could reach her quicker.  
  
"What's wrong?" He said with a shake in his voice, he was exhausted.  
  
She wiped away a tear that had escaped her and looked up at him, not letting herself get fazed one bit by his appearance, "Your dad called," She finally said in a low whisper, "He wasn't too please with me, or you."  
  
Ephram stood in amazement. His dad actually knew where he was? That couldn't be good, "What did he say to you?"  
  
"Nothing much, just that he wanted his son back safe and sound," She looked down again, "Immediately." Her voice sunk as she spoke the last word.  
  
"Well," Ephram sat next to her, "I'm not leaving you, we need to stick together now. I can't go back there, not now, not ever. I've gotten myself in too deep with you, and I'm going to help you as much as you need it." Then Ephram realized that his dad calling shouldn't have made her cry, "Something else is wrong, what is it?"  
  
She smiled a little and looked at him again, "We need to get you patched and cleaned up, let's go inside." She stood and walked into her house.  
  
'Something is wrong with her,' Ephram started thinking to himself, 'and I'm going to find out what.'  
  
******  
  
After Ephram had been taken care of, Annette made some supper. It wasn't anything big, just some macaroni and cheese, and then some mashed potatoes. Nonetheless he enjoyed the meal, and wasn't sorry about his decision to stay with this girl.  
  
She was very nice, gentle, and softhearted. He never had to ask her anything, it's like she always knew. But something, right now anyway, seemed a little off, she looked as though she had been shaken out of a nightmare, and was still very scared, and that worried Ephram to an extent he never knew.  
  
He wanted to get to the bottom of this, and he was soon going to, much sooner than he had actually intended. Annette looked up from her plate into Ephram's eyes, which were looking back, "My parents called," Immediately Ephram knew what was wrong, "They never want to see me again. We didn't get a chance to work things out, they just hate me. They said if I come near them ever again they'll call the cops, so I can't ever go to there place."  
  
"Why would they do that without giving you a reason? You didn't do anything!" Ephram was getting mad.  
  
"Actually, I did. I haven't been telling you the truth, Ephram. I've done some pretty bad things in my life, and now you're wrapped up in them." Ephram had no clue what she was talking about, "By you staying here, I've gotten you into trouble with your dad," She paused for a second, "And my parents."  
  
"What?" Ephram didn't know what to say, he didn't even know why this was happening.  
  
"When I went to there house a while ago, I took something of theirs, something that I never should have even laid eyes on, but I did." She started playing with her food, "Ephram, my parents had something that they kept very dear to them, and I completely tore that from them. I never thought they would find out, but it has now blown up in my face."  
  
"Could you just tell me what you took? I'm sure it wasn't that big of a deal."  
  
Annette looked at him with her mouth open, as if she was going to say something, but all that came out was a sigh. After a minute she spoke, "Ephram, I took something that my brother left them in his will. He never gave me anything, and that made me mad, so I had to take it. It was the one thing I wanted, and he gave it to them!" Annette stood up and walked out of them room, she came back in with a small box. She opened it to reveal a small necklace with a ring on the chain, "It's his class ring. It was something he always wore, and said he would never take it off. Well, he took it off the day that he died. He was going to get it sized, because it was getting too small for his fingers. He was on his way back from the jewelry shop when the accident happened. I, for who knows what reason, was blamed for that accident, and my parents haven't forgiven me yet. The shop called saying that they had his ring ready; my dad was the one who answered the phone. He looked at me and told me to get out of his house. He told me never to return, and so I did what he said. "I ran to my room and started packing. I didn't know where I was going, I was young. I packed everything I could carry, and then went to my parent's room, where I knew my mom would be. She was lying on her bed, holding a pillow my brother had made for her. He was always a good kid, and I was always the trouble maker. I guess that's why I'm here today. Because I was never good enough for them, but my brother always stuck up for me. And when he died it was over, my parents didn't want me anymore." She was in tears now, not able to hold them back anymore.  
  
Ephram grabbed Annette by the arm and gave her a hug, "That isn't true, and you know it isn't."  
  
When Annette finally spoke, still embraced by Ephram, she only whispered, "Yes it is, Ephram, they told me so. They said I was a no good piece of scum. I told you that, and they still believe it." She pulled herself away from Ephram and wiped away some tears, but the more she wiped the more tears came down, "I wish I had never taken his necklace. I wish I had never talked to my parents again, and then none of this would have happened. You would probably be safe at home right now, and I would be minding my own business. Why are you still here anyway, Ephram? Why are you still with me?"  
  
"Annette, I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what. When you told me you were going to kill yourself, I knew I had to find you and stop you. When I did I guess I gained a friend somewhere in there, but I lost everyone else." Ephram went to sit on the couch, "As long as I'm with you, I can't go back to my old life."  
  
"Your old life? You talk about it as if you were on drugs and drinking alcohol or something. You need to go back, Ephram. Don't stay here because of me. Either way you will go back soon." Annette looked very uncomfortable, but Ephram didn't really know what she meant by 'either way', and he didn't really want to.  
  
******  
  
Ephram was laying on the couch, almost asleep when Annette walked into the living room, "Ephram, I have to take my brother's ring to where it belongs. I want you to get some sleep, okay?"  
  
He sat up a little, putting all of his weight on his right arm, which didn't hurt anymore, "Where are you taking it?" He tried to look into her eyes through the dark, but found that very difficult.  
  
"Like I said, where it belongs. That's all I can tell you, no I have to go." She walked out the door without letting Ephram speak another word.  
  
He sighed and then lay back down. He almost immediately fell into a half sleep. For some reason he couldn't get completely asleep, and that was probably a good thing. The words Annette had spoken earlier kept coming back to him, "Either way you will go back soon."  
  
He didn't understand it then, but now it hit him harder than ever. He jumped up, waking from his sleep, and ran to turn on the light. There was a note stuck in the door, it was signed to him. Ephram hastily opened the paper and read the words he dreaded were coming:  
  
I'm sorry Ephram, tell my parents I said goodbye.  
  
That's all it said. Ephram threw it behind him and ran out the door in his boxers and a T-shirt. He knew exactly where he should go, but it wasn't to look for Annette, it was to find someone who could help.  
  
He ran straight for the police station. When he got inside he was immediately stared at. He stood in the doorway for a minute, but someone soon caught his eye.  
  
It was the police officer that had questioned Ephram that one night that he met Annette, "Hey, officer!" Ephram ran up to him, he realized he had never gotten a name from him.  
  
The guy looked at Ephram from top to bottom for a minute, as if he was searching for something in the back of his mind, and then he got a look on his face, like he had found it, "Ephram Brown?" The officer was shocked to see this kid there ever again, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"It's about that girl I told you about. Annette McMillan was her name." Ephram was out of breath from running, "I have a problem."  
  
******  
  
After Ephram explained everything that had happened since the last time they were together, the officer looked at a fellow officer and waved him over, "Johnny, this kid needs help finding his girlfriend, she's suicidal."  
  
"She's not my girlfriend." Ephram stood up and walked over to the door.  
  
"Go home and put some clothes on kid, we'll deal with this." Johnny looked at Ephram with disgust.  
  
"Oh no, I'm not going home. I've been with her this whole time, and I'm not turning back now." Ephram went back and sat down, he had only gotten up because he wanted something to drink, but that could wait.  
  
"Look, kid, if you were the only one that could find her, I'd understand, but you're not. We can do this, its best if you stay put of the way." Johnny wasn't happy, but Ephram was just as unhappy as the officer.  
  
"You don't know her. Just let me stay, please." Ephram was getting upset, and very worried. Then he thought of something. Annette had said she was taking her brothers necklace back to where it belonged, but he hadn't been told where that was, "I think I know one place she was going. She was taking her brother's necklace someplace...Well, her brother is dead, and I think she might have been taking it to him, but I'm not sure." It was a long shot, and she might not have still been there, if she ever was, but Ephram knew he had to try.  
  
The officers didn't say anything; they just stood up and walked out of the room. Johnny came back a second later and grabbed Ephram by the arm, "You're coming with us." He smiled a little and then let go.  
  
******  
  
They searched every cemetery they could find near Annette's house, but didn't find anything. They had one last place to go, and Ephram was hoping with all of his might, which was getting low, that she would be there, or at least there would be a sign of her somewhere.  
  
When the patrol car pulled up to the gate, Ephram jumped out as fast as he could. He ran around looking for a gravestone that read McMillan, and, to his surprise, he found one. But Annette wasn't there. He knelt down, losing all hope of ever finding her, but then something caught his eye. There was something on the ground, shining in the moonlight.  
  
Annette had been there. It was her brother's necklace. The first thing that popped into his head was the bridge, he had to go there and see if that's where she was.  
  
The car left the last cemetery, and headed for the place that connected Everwood to that town. It took them a few minutes to get there, and when they did they saw nothing. Ephram slowly got out of the car, not really wanting to look over the edge. When he stepped toward the railing, his heart started to beat faster.  
  
He finally got the courage to look over, and when he did he was relieved. He didn't see anything. He looked over the other side and saw nothing there either, but he then remembered how easily you could get swept away by the current in that river.  
  
He feared the worst when that came to his mind, he didn't want her to be dead, but he knew he was too late. He stepped over to a spot where they had met one day, and then something else came to his mind.  
  
'Oh no,' Ephram began thinking to himself again, 'this can't be happening.'  
  
"What did you say?" Ephram turned to Johnny, who was staring at him.  
  
"What?" He didn't realize he had said anything, "Oh, nothing." He didn't want anyone to know what had just come into his mind.  
  
He had remembered that day when Annette had joked about jumping off of the bridge. She had said something that he had mistaken to be humor, but now it was coming back to him. She had said that she would never jump off of a bridge if she wanted to kill herself; she would more than likely OD or something. Ephram immediately started running back in the direction they had just come from, straight for Annette's house.  
  
"Hey kid," Johnny took a few steps towards Ephram, "Where are you going?"  
  
"Look downstream, I have to check something!" Ephram didn't stop or turn around when he heard the officer's voice; he had to go back to Annette's place. He ran all the way back; stopping for nothing, not even to catch his breath.  
  
When he reached the door, he found that it was locked. The only think he knew to do was to kick it in, and so he did. He kicked as hard as he could, but with the first kick nothing happened. The second one is what did it. The door flew open with small pieces of wood flying everywhere.  
  
Ephram looked around the living room first, and then in the kitchen. Annette wasn't in either room. He went to her bedroom, but she wasn't there either. He looked toward the bathroom, and saw that the door was closed. It was never closed, unless someone was in it.  
  
He tried opening the door, but it was also locked. He ran and got one of Annette's bobby pins, and started unlocking the door. When he heard a click he knew he had succeeded. He stood up and slowly turned the doorknob, and then started opening the door even slower.  
  
He looked into the room through the small crack between the door and its frame. He was afraid of what he would see, but he knew what was coming. Slowly, as the door kept opening, Ephram saw Annette's hand, and then her arm, and soon the rest of her body was revealed.  
  
Ephram looked around the room, and at her limp body, there was a medicine bottle clutched in her right hand, and a couple of pills that must have fallen out of the bottle when it opened.  
  
Realizations of things Ephram had put aside were beginning to come back to him. Things he had never wanted to say to his family, he had said. Things he had never wanted to do, he had done. Things he had never wanted to see, he had seen. And the one thing he had tried to keep someone from doing, that person had done.  
  
Annette McMillan was dead. Ephram had to go back. He had to go back home, to his family, and to his friends, if he still had any. He had messed up, yes, but he knew they would take him back. The one thing he didn't know was how hard it would be getting there.  
  
He had a rough road ahead of him, and this was just the beginning. Just wait until The Mourning After. 


End file.
